


The Ocean's Radiance

by Madrigal_in_training



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, Hikari Kurosawa, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, M/M, Politics, Self-Insert, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-17
Updated: 2020-03-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:28:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 39,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23182480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madrigal_in_training/pseuds/Madrigal_in_training
Summary: She had idly daydreamed about being reincarnated into her favorite books before but Hikari Kurosawa, Daughter of Apollo, was never supposed to be a character there, was she? Featuring an intelligent Percy, Olympian culture and politics, and storyline deviations. SI!OC, Percy x OC
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace, Percy Jackson/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 37
Kudos: 459
Collections: The best of self inserts and Oc stories, oc self insertSI





	1. A God Steals My Mom's Cab

(New York, New York)

Chihiro Kurosawa absentmindedly brushed a lock of raven dark hair out of her eyes, as she scanned the gloomy Manhattan street. A scowl worked its way into her face when she once again failed to spot the canary yellow of an available taxi cab. Clutching her violin case closer to her body, the young woman's frown deepened when a few droplets of water landed on her head.

Brilliant. Now she could be cold, tired, late, _and_ wet.

' _Don't bother with an umbrella, Chihiro. There's only a 12% chance of rain, Chihiro,'_ the woman thought petulantly, shifting slightly on her feet to adjust the case better against her body. The leather had been treated to be waterproof but she still hated getting it wet. ' _I'm going to shove an umbrella up his- a cab!'_

Chihiro nearly stumbled down the slick marble stairs in her haste to get to the car. She didn't think she had ever seen such a beautiful sight in her life! Her feet were barely two steps from the door when a tanned hand that was _not her own_ grabbed the handle.

"Hey! That one is mine!" Steel grey eyes flashed left to the man that had the audacity to steal _her_ ride. "Go find another cab, buddy."

"Sorry but I got here first," the man replied, flashing a sunny smile at her. Had she not been so infuriated now, Chihiro would have definitely given him a second lookover. Slightly wavy blonde hair, bronzed skin, symmetrical features, and startling bright sky blue eyes made a handsome picture.

"I need the cab more than you," she insisted.

"How do you know what I need the cab for?" he countered, "You know, life will pass you by if you keep focusing on the little frustrations that pop up every day. You should smile more."

"Look, I'm running late for a rather important event," she stated, taking in a deep breath, "How about I give you a twenty to take this one…?"

She reached into her jacket to pick out her wallet and then froze. Fingers dug through the thin cloth stubbornly but could only grasp empty air. Her mind helpfully reminded her that she normally kept her wallet in her purse, which was conveniently in her bedroom somewhere. Chihiro wanted to curse.

"Having a problem, ma'am?" The man asked, an infuriatingly cheerful grin still on her face. "Forgot your wallet, perhaps?"

"I-" She gulped, "I don't suppose you have a phone I could borrow? I need to call someone."

"I could do that," the man cocked his head to the side and blue eyes fastened on her violin case, "What do you play?"

"Violin," Chihiro answered impatiently, checking her watch. "I don't mean to be rude sir, but I had to be at Carnegie Hall fifteen minutes ago and I would really appreciate being able to use your cell now."

The man's eyebrows rose. "Are you always this stressed?"

She scowled at him.

He grinned back at her. For a second, it seemed like the entire world had brightened up around her. Then she blinked once and Chihiro was back under a light drizzle by the dusky gloom of the city.

"You know, I was going to attend a concert at Carnegie right now. Would you like to ride with me?"

Chihiro hesitated. On one hand, getting into a cab with a complete and utter stranger seemed reckless. For all she knew, he could be some kind of model-worthy serial killer that would kill her, peel her skin, and eat her organs (or something). On the other, it would take at least half an hour for her father to send a car to pick her up and smiley face umbrellas were inherently unthreatening.

"Okay." The man stepped aside to let her enter the cab first, placing his umbrella over her head in an attempt to save her from more rain. It was futile, since she was already more or less dampened now, but Chihiro did appreciate the gesture. He sat down next, his left knee pressing against her right as he leaned forward to give the driver the address.

' _Huh, he's really warm,_ ' the woman observed. "Er, I would like to thank you. For the ride. I'm Chihiro."

"It's nice to meet you, Chihiro," the stranger replied, "I'm Fred."

x

(Kurosawa Residence, Greenwich, Connecticut)

"How could possibly be so reckless Chihiro?!" The older man snapped, "You had the entire world open to you and chose to destroy all of your prospects with this one extraordinarily foolish decision-"

"Father, I'm keeping the baby." However soft and wavering her voice had been, Satoru Kurosawa recoiled at the words.

"Are you thinking, daughter?" Satoru regained his composure quickly, "Your American idiot is well and truly _gone_ and you want to keep his bastard child?"

"Mine too," Chihiro muttered quietly. Her hands shook as she attempted to avoid the furious gaze of her father. Rebellion was not a cloak oft-worn in her home.

"I'm sorry?" Satoru demanded.

"The child is mine too," the dark-haired woman cleared her throat, "Regardless of the circumstances, you're gaining a grandchild."

"No grandchild of mine will be born a bastard," her father denied, "Chihiro, please, you're only twenty! You're not ready to be a mother!"

"Is anyone ready for that?" she asked wryly, "Father, I know that you never approved of Fred…"

Satoru snorted. "I knew he would ruin you and run away from the moment I saw him. Don't say I didn't warn you of that!"

"I know," Chihiro acknowledged. ' _And I ignored you because he was charming and funny and had a smile that could light up my entire day.'_

"No one else knows about this," Satoru urged, "It's early enough for a non-invasive procedure and then you can complete your education."

" _No."_ Purposefully lose her child? No, no, she could never do that.

"Then give the child up for adoption," Satoru bargained, recognizing the firmness in his daughter's grey eyes, so similar to his own. "I'll send you over to your uncle's until the baby arrives."

"Give the baby up?" Chihiro closed her eyes. Her heart squeezed painfully in her chest. This was her child- _Fred's child_ \- and he wanted her to give the baby up? How could she do that?

"No. No, no, no, no." She shook her head rapidly, feeling tears well up in her eyes. "I can't- Father- I won't give my child up."

"Chihiro-"

"No," she looked up and met the man's furious gaze, "I'm sorry, Father. I'm so, so sorry."

x

(Hospital, Greenwich, Connecticut)

Despite knowing that he had begrudgingly accepted her refusal to change her mind, Chihiro was surprised when an elderly Japanese man, with salt-and-pepper hair and a distinguished grey suit entered the maternity ward.

"Father," she greeted, offering a weak smile. Childbirth was nothing to scoff at and the pain had driven her to unconsciousness shortly after the first wail of her newborn pierced the air. The nurses had taken the child away and now she was waiting (impatiently) for them to bring her back.

Not for the first time, she wonder what her and Fred's daughter would look like. Would he have her steel grey eyes or his sky blue ones? Her pale skin or his tanned one? Her too wide nose and constantly furrowed brow or his ridiculously good-looking features? With a shamelessly prettyboy father, Chihiro had hopes for an adorable face to melt her heart.

"Chihiro," Satoru greeted back, eyes softening slightly as he saw how exhausted she was. "Where is the child?"

"I haven't seen her yet," she said, the last word drawing off when the door opened. "Nurse? Is that my daughter?"

Her heart fluttered eagerly when she saw the pale pink blanket and then beat even harder when the woman handed the bundle over to her. She awkwardly held the swaddled infant in her arms; occasionally babysitting her cousins hadn't prepared for this. A tuft of black hair at least answered whether her daughter would beat the odds and be a blonde.

"Beautiful," Chihiro breathed, tugging the blanket away. The face was round, red, and scrunched up into a dissatisfied expression. There were only a few wisps of hair present on nearly bald head and when her eyes opened, they stared at her blankly. "You have your daddy's eyes."

Indeed, her daughter's comically wide-eyed stare was the same brilliant sky blue as Fred's.

"Humph. And thankfully little else," her father commented, stepping closer, "So this is the daughter you're giving up your musical career for."

Her smile became a little more strained. "It'll only be a temporary break, Father."

As though sensing her mother's discomfort, the baby's mouth opened and a tiny wail came out.

"Oh, don't cry!" Chihiro pleaded, euphoria quickly turning into panic, "It's okay, mommy's here, you'll be fine! Are you hungry? Are you cold?"

Satoru watched silently as his only child rocked her arms back and forth in a makeshift cradle to silence the babe. He recalled a similarly frantic gesture during her own birth and tried to swallow back the frustration rising in him. Chihiro was naive to think that she was capable of raising a child of her own, especially without a college education and after being abandoned by that grinning idiot. This was not the life he wanted for his daughter…

"Give her to me," Satoru ordered, not bothering to wait for an answer when he took the child from her arms. He carefully placed the child at the crook of his elbow, while using the other hand to rub her back. ' _She doesn't take after her mother. She looks just like Haruka would have had she lived…'_

Chihiro couldn't help but smile when she saw her daughter calm down in her father's arms. Maybe the old man would give his granddaughter a chance, after all.

"What do you plan to name her?" Satoru asked.

"Hikari," Chihiro answered, without hesitation, "Because she's going to be as radiant as the sun, just like her dad."

Satoru ignored the comparison as he studied the child that looked very much Chihiro's stillborn elder sister. "Hikari Kurosawa. Welcome to the family."

x

(Kurosawa Residence, Greenwich, Connecticut)

' _My daughter is an angel,_ ' Chihiro sighed, relieved to the see Hikari drift off to sleep after receiving being nursed. ' _In fact, I don't think babies are supposed to be this quiet and well-behaved…_ '

Not interested in questioning the miracle of an infant that only cried when she needed to be fed or changed, the dark-haired woman gently placed her daughter on the warm yellow bedspread of her crib. Hikari's room was done in a combination of soft cream, sunshine yellow, and ocean blue, with flying sparrows that her Cousin Akira had hand painted onto the walls. Her furniture was of robust cherry wood, her armoire practically overflowing with assorted baby clothes, and her ignored plush collection filled with stuffed animals of every stripe and continent. The one standing guard over her sleep today was a solemn-looking giraffe sent over from Cousin Noriko's trip abroad.

Hikari had received a mixed reception from her extended family. Most of her younger cousins, especially the ones that had been raised in the UK or America rather than Japan, were tentatively excited about a new addition to the family. Some had been standoffish at first but tended to soften around Hikari's sheer cuteness. The rest were torn between being offended that she had had a child out of wedlock and being offended that she had been abandoned to have a child out of wedlock. For Fred's sake, Chihiro hoped that he would never meet Cousin Ryoku in a boxing ring.

And then, of course, there was her father, who swung between the polar emotions of refusing to acknowledge his bastard granddaughter and bragging about how she was going to grow up to be a brilliant business executive/golfer/swimmer/chemist, just like him one day.

' _He's already starting the indoctrination process,'_ Chihiro considered, smothering her giggles.

If there was one characteristic about her daughter that she would never understand, it was Hikari's penchant for waking up at daybreak. Every. Single. Day. Her Father shared the habit though, and there was more than one morning where the woman would wander down to the kitchen to find the two together. Satoru sitting dignified at the head of the table, newspaper and coffee at hand, while lecturing an owlishly blinking newborn about world affairs was a sight that easily made her smile.

"I'm going to miss that tomorrow, musume," she whispered, leaning forward to press a kiss to Hikari's forehead. Her daughter squirmed but thankfully didn't wake up as Chihiro continued to regard her. It had been almost a year since Hikari was born and her mother was finally going to continue her education. It would be part-time admittedly but the dark-haired woman would still regret missing out on a significant part of her daughter's early years.

"I wonder what Fred would think of us now," Chihiro continued, "I'd like to think that he would be proud of you. Your dad would be even more wrapped around your finger then your grandfather, don't you think?"

One finger lightly brushing her child's cheek, she looked wistfully around the nursery. They had installed near-transparent, gauzy white curtains to the windows since her daughter adored napping in the sun. It was just one of the ways to ensure that Hikari grew up with everything she needed, but there was one thing that Chihiro couldn't offer her and that was a father.

"Still I'm being silly now," the woman said to herself, "Fred is gone and I can't keep wishing for him to come back. Hikari and I have our own lives to live now."

' _I'll always love him for giving me this precious little girl,'_ she acknowledged, ' _But it's time I step away from the past and let him go. He's the one that taught me the promise of a new dawn, after all._ '


	2. I Hide In The Supply Closet

(Hospital, Greenwich, Connecticut)

Death was a relatively painless affair.

It was a foggy day in London, she had picked up a quart of milk from the local mart, and there was a glitch in the crosslight. She hadn't even felt the car hit her, brain hitting pavement and succumbing to darkness so quickly that there were few sensations to be felt. Anna supposed that people may have screamed afterward and an ambulance possibly careened down the road to save her, but by then, the almost graduated high school senior had died. Hopefully her corpse wasn't too mangled up for when her parents had to pick her up.

Life was a relatively painful affair.

She had come into consciousness thinking that she was being suffocated in not-quite-water and crushed by not-quite-walls. There were contractions, a painstakingly slow crawl forwards, and then cold that bit and snipped at her raw skin. The light was so bright that it burned her eyes. Yellow, orange, and red lights. Yellow when her eyes were open, orange when her eyes were closed, and red when she scrunched them tightly. Anna had responded by shrieking her displeasure to the world.

She kept screaming and screaming and screaming when she tried to wriggle her body and found that it refused to obey her. Her world tilted on its axis as scratchy hands- gloves, she would later recognize- gently led her into another room and cleaned her up. By then, Anna had stilled in the horrible realization that there was nothing her cries were accomplishing.

Then her bleary sight started to clear and she realized that she was held by a giant.

Anna tried to flick her tongue forward and bite down on it. A minor reflex that tended to calm her down and center her thoughts backfired when she learned that _all of her teeth_ were gone. She didn't even get to panic for long before the giant hummed something about 'meeting her mother' and tilted Anna's axis of gravity _again_.

' _Mother?!_ ' Anna wailed inside.

They put her into the hands of another giant- and now, she started to suspect that she was merely tiny- who was a complete stranger to her. The woman practically lit up when she saw her though and her first word- 'beautiful'- were reassuring in that Anna didn't think she would be eaten. The next sentence confused her though, because her hazel eyes were inherited from her _mother_.

' _They did say that this woman was supposed to be my mother though, didn't they?_ ' The woman wasn't classically beautiful but there was something appealing in her gentle, open features and grey eyes. She was also looking at Anna in a way that felt distinctly intimate and therefore, highly uncomfortable.

' _Dammit, think this through Anna. You were out shopping, paid extra for a bar of chocolate, hurried home to have lunch, crossed the street and… died. Huh. I died._ '

Anna promptly opened her mouth and cried. This, she felt, was entirely deserved. She had _died_!

Her new mother panicked when she did so, which proved that she was either an incompetent mother or Anna wasn't going to get any older siblings out of this deal. Then she was handed over to another giant, whose stern face immediately intimidated her into silence.

Then Mother-Giant and Scary-Giant had a short conversation that revealed her new name. Hikari Kurosawa.

Bloody hell. She had just been reincarnated.

x

(Kurosawa Residence, Greenwich, Connecticut)

The first year of her life as Hikari Kurosawa was a charmed one.

She lived in a massive house with her mother, Chihiro, her grandfather, Satoru, and a part-time maid/nanny, Sarah. Silently observing the world around her revealed that her loving mother was a twenty-one year old pre-law student who temporarily dropped out of college to raise her after a man commonly referred to a laughing fool left her.

That was one of the nicer names her grandfather had for him, so it was a good four months before she learned that her absentee father was named Fred. Having already had a father's love and not being particularly attached to a stranger, Anna- or that is, Hikari- didn't really care that he wasn't around. She _could_ have been upset on her newfound mother's behalf but Chihiro seemed to think about the man fondly and wasn't too upset about being left to raise her alone. And since the older woman wasn't heartbroken over it, then she didn't feel any need to be either.

So while her feelings towards her father were mostly indifference with a touch of gratitude (half her genes and the eyes that she was constantly complimented on had come from him after all), her feelings towards her mother were more complex. Anna- Hikari- was surprised to find herself genuinely loving the dark-haired woman. Maybe it was because of how obviously the woman adored her; it was only natural to feel some sort of positive emotion towards someone that loved you. Part of it could be because she was her main caretaker; the source of breast milk, creature comforts, and off-key lullabies. Or maybe her body merely recognized Chihiro Kurosawa as her biological mother and inherently cared on that basis alone.

Regardless of the reason, Anna- Hikari- _did_ care about her and the stern, older man that rarely smiled too. Her new grandfather struck her as a traditional man who disapproved (quietly) of her birth status and (loudly) of her biological father. He did tend to handle her gently though and would occasionally march around the house with her securely carried in his arms. Satoru Kurosawa was also an excellent source of information; since her internal body clocked up at daybreak, she quickly learned that being docile and cute (again, her father deserved a lot of credit there) would have the news dictated to her.

She had gathered a lot of facts there. For one, she was born exactly one year after her death, on May 30, 1993, and in the United States, which was a relief since she could only speak English. For another, her grandfather was a retired executive of a mid-sized pharmaceutical company, having worked up from a chemist, and had been born shortly after World War II. The rebuilding of Japan had made quite an impression on him, which was why he had chosen to bring his family to America as an adult. Chihiro was his only child but he had quite an extended family, with four brothers, two sisters, and a cornucopia of nieces and nephews, that were all in agreement about her biological father. A few relatives had visited her so far and while she couldn't keep any of their names in her head, most of them were nice enough to her mother.

Unfortunately for her, a couple of them brought children along and Anna- Hikari- learned how disgusting baby drool was on her face.

She dealt with the indignity with more composure then she did the first time she needed to be changed and realized that some strange lady was tugging her pants down. Anna- Hikari- had never screamed so loudly before in her life.

' _This life isn't so bad,'_ Anna- Hikari- thought sleepily, curling up into a warm pool of sunshine in her crib. She would feel a little sad about her old one but recalling her past life was like trying to capture fog. It would slip past her fingers and leave a faint impression of everything she'd lost. ' _Now if only I could figure out when a baby's supposed to talk._ '

x

(James Lincoln Day Care, Greenwich, Connecticut)

At almost three-and-a-half years old, Hikari Kurosawa had mastered the art of the deadpanned look.

"I don't care how intolerable you find them to be," Satoru Kurosawa informed her crisply, "You will be attending daycare whether you like it or not."

"The other children are loud and messy, and they don't respect my personal space," Hikari said plaintively, "And the teacher put me next to a boy named Bobby who kept crying all through naptime."

"Perhaps he wouldn't have cried if you hadn't thrown a book at his head," her grandfather remained unconvinced. "You need to learn how to socialize with others, Hikari."

"He was crying even before I threw that book," she replied, with all wounded dignity, "And I spoke to Takeshi on the phone yesterday."

The old man raised a single, thin eyebrow, which she had since learned was his equivalent to rolling his eyes. "Wonderful. Then if you can manage to tolerate a second individual for ten minutes today, you'll have managed to make a friend who's not your cousin."

Hikari turned away, pouting. "I want Mother to be here."

"She has classes now," Satoru placed one hand gently on her head and his blue-eyed granddaughter looked up. "It's her first day of law school. We should plan a celebratory dinner later, ne?"

' _I'm not going to give into the bribe…'_ She wavered. "Lemon cake?"

"I'll pick up the ingredients myself," her grandfather promised.

Hikari wilted. "Fine. I'll be good."

The reluctant consent won an approving smile from Satoru. "Good. And Hikari? Let's avoid the hardcover books today, okay?"

"Fine," she repeated, a smile reluctantly crossing her face. Then, because he'd had the nerve to drag her back to a second day at the daycare center- after assuring Miss Beth that she was _very_ sorry about throwing that book and would never, _ever_ do it again- she hugged him. Her grandfather froze awkwardly under the gesture like he always did, before tentatively patting her on the back and pushing her back towards the gate.

"Well, there you go," he said gruffly, "Have you packed everything? Juice box and cookies? Notebook and coloring pencils? Your manga?"

"Yes, yes, and yes," Hikari patted the bright pink Hello Kitty backpack fondly, "Sarah took care of everything yesterday. I'll see you later, Grandfather. Love you!"

It was a declaration that Hikari insisted on saying every time she said goodbye to her family members, no matter how short the time apart may have been. She had already died once and knew that this was the last message she wanted them to know, even when her mother was in a rare moment of depression over Fred or Takeshi had snapped her favorite sunshine yellow crayon. As an added bonus, it never failed to discomfort her embarrassed-by-public-affection grandfather.

When she had walked into the glaringly colorful and exceedingly loud room of three and four year olds crying for their mothers, Hikari had to force herself not to roll her eyes. She didn't care what her grandfather had said; there was absolutely no way she was going to be befriending any of these snot-nosed brats.

She trudged up to the brunette woman in a smart blouse and pencil skirt at the front of the room. "Hello Miss Beth."

"Ah, Hikari. Good morning," Miss Beth replied, a forced smile on her face. "Have you already put your bag in your cubby?"

Rather than respond, she raised Hello Kitty's waving paws- it was like a stuffed animal was attached to the front of the bag- and offered her best smile. She didn't receive one back. Apparently _someone_ still held a grudge over her alphabet song being called 'puerile' and 'out-of-tune', and compared to 'verbal diarrhea'. Though honestly what was she supposed to do when her opinion was solicited? _Lie?_

Hikari wasn't entirely sure how the child prodigy persona came about. She supposed the blame could be laid to when she decided to use Takeshi as a marker for baby progress, not yet knowing that he was fourteen months older than her and considerably bright for his age. By the time she figured it out, her grandfather was already crowing about having a genius grandchild of his own and a friendly rivalry had sprung up between the two branches of the family.

She felt a little guilty about claiming such a title for herself, since Takeshi actually _was_ a baby genius, who doubled as the greatest menace of his generation. He was also her favorite cousin since they shared many characteristics, like uncommonly coloured eyes (his were a hazel light enough to pass for molten gold) and a love for naps under the sun. Shame that he lived in Kyoto though.

"I would like you to move to another seat today, Hikari."

She tried to raise a single eyebrow like grandfather did but the result probably distorted her face weirdly. "Why?"

"I think it might be best to separate you and Bobby for the time being," Miss Beth explained, "How about a seat next to the window?"

Access to sunlight _and_ getting away from the crybaby? Maybe this teacher wasn't that bad after all. "Okay."

With a tentative hope for a decent enough day, Hikari trotted up to the little people desk near the left wall of the room and settled down. There was a circular cubby instilled under each of the desks and that was where she stashed her bag after withdrawing her notebook and coloring pencils. Since she obviously already knew her alphabet, she didn't feel the least bit bad about ignoring Miss Beth for more productive activities. Like drawing her mother a picture of Chihiro in a law court.

' _Maybe I could make it a comic where she hits the criminal over the head with a giant gavel,_ ' Hikari mused, busily getting to work, ' _And I'll give her a jetpack too, cause that's awesome._ '

It did not need to be stated that childhood agreed with Hikari rather well.

The Kurosawa was quite busy debating the merits of giving her delicate five foot three mother spiked boots for greater intimidation, when the back of her neck prickled. Was someone staring at her? Half-convinced that it would be Miss Beth looking upset at ignoring her or Bobby angry at being used as target practice, Hikari tentatively raised her head and looked around. None of her classmates were staring at her and the teacher was too busy helping one kid pick up his blocks, so it wasn't from within the classroom.

The feeling at the back of her neck intensified and Hikari hesitantly looked out the window. A second later, she ducked her head back down and tried to stifle a scream. From a few meters away, a tall maybe high schooler had stared back at her. His face looked like it had one too many punches directed there, his clothes were dirty and torn and his stringy brown hair hadn't been washed for days. That wasn't what had gotten Hikari's attention though.

' _Oh God, why does that boy have one eye?!'_

x

(James Lincoln Day Care, Greenwich, Connecticut)

"Hikari, your grandfather is here to pick you up," Miss Beth ventured tentatively, "Can you come out of the closet now?"

"Prove that he's here first," she demanded, still clutching her closest equivalent to a weapon- namely the class broom- from her huddled spot in the storage closet. Hikari had scrambled in here less than a minute after seeing a goddamn monster outside of her school and refused to come out since. She didn't care what Miss Beth claimed about not seeing anyone outside; Hikari trusted her eyes!

' _Unless I imagined all of it.'_ Not for the first time, the dark-haired girl considered that her eyes were playing tricks on her. She could check again by looking out the window but the rapid pitter-patter of her heart quickly dissuaded her from that idea. One of the reasons that she loved to read books about heroes and the like, was because _she_ was a coward.

"Hikari Kurosawa, you will come out of that closet immediately. I will not tolerate this disgraceful behavior from you," her grandfather's unique disapproving voice ordered from outside the thin door.

She briefly considered refusing the order before crawling out of the closet. Her courage didn't go so far as to deny Satoru Kurosawa when he was using _that_ tone of voice. Her eyes had to blink rapidly to accustom itself to the light and the first sight they fell on was her grandfather's unimpressed look.

"Would you care to explain _why_ you were cowering inside of a supply closet?"

She shifted from one foot to the other. "I saw someone outside, Grandfather."

Hikari was secretly relieved when that hardened grey stare switched to her nervous teacher. "Why would a student be afraid of anyone loitering outside of this school? Aren't there any guards present? I pay good money for this service, Miss Delton, and I expect my granddaughter to be safe in your care."

"Well, I checked outside of the window and there wasn't anyone there, sir," the woman spluttered, "James Lincoln Day Care has an excellent security service and if there was anyone hanging around the building that shouldn't have been there, we would have known."

"Are you implying that my granddaughter lied, Miss Delton?"

"What? No, sir, of course not! It's just that Hikari may have mistaken what she saw…"

"I have my doubts about that and plan to raise this issue at the next parents committee meeting," Satoru frowned, "I will now be taking my granddaughter off your hands then. Come along, Hikari."

Her momentary fear of the monster outside eclipsed by the concern of subjecting her grandfather- who, for all of his imposing demeanor, was still just an old man- to it, Hikari grabbed his hand. "Grandfather, I- will Nick be picking us up?"

Nick was her grandfather's driver but the day care center was close enough that Satoru didn't always use his services. "Yes, he will be. Why?"

"Nothing," she muttered, gripping her bag tightly. One hand holding his tightly, she warily looked around and tried to match her grandfather's long strides down the hallway. Despite her laziness and general lack of athleticism, Hikari was an excellent shot and could probably beam the monster in the head before they ran.

If her grandfather noticed the odd action- which, who was she kidding, he definitely did- he didn't mention it. And when they stepped outside, the sunlight momentarily lifting her spirits, Hikari found the courtyard deserted. The one-eyed teen had disappeared.

Nonetheless, she all-but-dragged him to the waiting car, scrambled inside with all the haste of Takeshi and the last rice ball, and sat stiffly inside until the car was blocks away from the center.

"Hikari, can you tell me why you were so frightened today?" Her grandfather's disapproval had shifted into concern.

"My imagination probably got the best of me, Grandfather," Hikari trailed off. "Please, let's forget about this."

' _Because monsters that bark in the dark don't exist,'_ she reminded herself, ' _But then reincarnation was supposed to be a myth too, wasn't it? Yet I can remember being Anna Colton in a past life…_ '

When the car finally stopped in front of their home, Hikari jumped out and made to run inside.

"Hikari, where are you going? I thought we were going to bake a lemon cake," Satoru questioned, stepping outside after her.

"I'll come downstairs to do it later, Grandfather," she nearly vibrated in her spot with impatience, in a manner rather similar to her mother, "May I please be excused?"

After receiving a bemused nod, she shot off. Her blood thrummed with a familiar pleasure as she easily sprinted up the driveway, through the hall, and took the stairs two at a time. Sometimes Hikari liked to fantasize that she would one day run so fast that the wind would follow in her footsteps.

' _She slides, she jumps, she flips and she's in!'_ The blue-eyed girl mentally cheered as she flopped onto the sunny yellow bedspread of her room. It hadn't changed much from when it was a nursery, except for the furniture now matching her older form and bamboo wind chimes (a birthday gift from Takeshi) near the windows. ' _I need some serious advice right now._ '

Picking up the handset beside her bed, she selected the digits for an international call and then punched in Takeshi's home number. Due to a quirk in the early planning, the home's phone was set up in his room. ' _Pick up, pick up, pick up.'_

" _Hai?_ " A sleepy voice belonging to a five-year-old boy answered from halfway across the world.

" _Moshi, moshi Takeshi,"_ she greeted, not disquieted enough not to tease him with the greeting that he inexplicably didn't like. She liked to tease him about being a kitsune in a past life to fumble with this basic hello. " _It's me, Hikari."_

" _What? Why are you calling me? It's not even- give me a second- six in the morning here, Kari-chan,"_ her cousin scolded, tired voice similar enough to his grand-uncle's to make her squirm, " _Don't you remember the fourteen hour time difference between us?"_

"I need to talk to you," she explained, switching to English since her grasp of the other tongue was still shaky, "I think I saw a monster at my school today. He looked like one of those gang teens on TV but there was a giant eye on his forehead!"

"You woke me up because you had a bad dream?" Takeshi asked, incredulous.

"I was awake, idiot!" Hikari snapped back, "I know it sounds crazy but I swear that's what I saw!"

"Ah, calm down, Kari-chan," he soothed, "I'm sorry for teasing you. Tell me about this monster."

She quickly offered a description of the creature, focusing on the sole massive eye at the center of his forehead and the tough leathery appearance of his skin. Takeshi made a soft hum of consideration when she was done.

"It sounds like _hitotsume-kozō,_ " the boy offered, "They're minor yokai spirits that look like bald children with a single eye at the center of their foreheads. I do not think they hurt people."

"This monster had brown hair though," she pointed out.

"Yes, that is the only part that doesn't fit," Takeshi agreed, "Are there any monsters in your country's folklore that may fit this description?"

"I don't think I know enough about Native Americans myths to say. But another monster that is famous for having one eye would be the Cyclops from Greek Mythology. They eat humans."

"Then that is the monster you have seen," Takeshi said, matter-of-factly.

"Cyclops don't exist, Takeshi."

"Then what did you see, Hikari?"

The blue-eyed girl paused and stared up at the soft ringing sounds of the wind chimes. In her wide room, with the sunlight pouring in and the lemon tree's leaves swaying in the breeze, the fear from before felt almost silly.

"Takeshi, do you think that I'm crazy?"

"Does it matter if you are? If you haven't seen a monster, then there is nothing to be afraid of. And if you have, then I am glad you did not get hurt."

"...Thanks, Takeshi. I'll let you off to get some sleep," Hikari finally said, "Love you."

"Yeah, love you too," he agreed, too tired to put up even a token protest at the embarrassing words spoken when he was already _five years old_ , "Please don't call me again before noon."

When the phone hung up, the dark-haired girl rolled to her stomach and half-smothered her face in the pillow. This was crazy. She had just seen what was possibly a cyclops but that couldn't be true because cyclops weren't supposed to exist in real life! This was the sort of event that only happened in fantasy books, like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson or-

Hikari's brain practically screeched to a halt.

She jumped out of bed, grabbed her notebook, and started jotting down all of the ignored details of her life.

_Reincarnation_

_Trouble with dyslexia_

_Waking up at daybreak everyday_

_Musical talent that I never had before_

_Love of running and great aim_

_Eyes the color of the sky_

_Absentee father named Fred_

_Cyclops_

Oh, bloody hell. She hadn't just been reincarnated. She had been reincarnated as a demigod in the Percy Jackson series! A story that if she recalled correctly featured a bloody war between the Olympian Pantheon and the monster armies of Kronos and then _another_ war that she never got around to reading about with Gaea. And now she was born as a human monster magnet in a world where both sides of the war would benefit from another demigod soldier.

Yet Hikari Kurosawa wasn't even a minor character to be mentioned in the books. There was never even a side detail about Apollo having a daughter that didn't have his blonde hair.

' _Was I not supposed to exist in this world?'_

x


	3. My Grandfather Becomes An Evil Sensei

(Kurosawa Residence, Greenwich, Connecticut)

"I would like to study archery," Hikari announced over a dessert of lemon cake with vanilla frosting.

She had considered this issue in-depth. Her first reaction to figuring out that she was likely in a world of demigods and monsters was a half-aborted plan to track down her favorite heroes- Percy, Nico, Annabeth, Thalia, Piper, Leo, and so many more- and get their autographs. That idea was quickly scrapped for being reckless and stupid.

Her more concrete reaction after that was to flee the United States for safer shores. There weren't any massive natural disasters on the news to warn of Kronos rising and Percy Jackson should be three months younger than her, so she would be safe in the immediate future. In fact, if she was persuasive enough then she might even able to convince her mom to send her to Japan for her secondary education, where she could hang out with Takeshi and maybe mail warning letters to her favorite heroes. It was an idea that appealed to the survivalist in her and the one she would have gone with, if not for one _minor_ snag.

Demigods and monsters weren't the only ones to suffer casualties during the Olympians' wars. If anything, the former's small numbers and the latter's ability to regenerate meant that the greatest suffering was felt by the mortals. People like her grandfather and mother who would have no idea _how_ or _why_ they were dying to the monsters that they couldn't even see. She could flee to safer shores if she liked- and yes, this was an option that she definitely liked- but that would mean leaving her family behind. Her mother may follow her, but her grandfather would refuse to leave his wife's grave behind and Sarah and Alex, who she had known since childhood, wouldn't be able to follow.

' _Wouldn't staying here put them in danger too, though?'_ Hikari had bitten her tongue hard enough to draw blood at the thought. ' _A cyclops at my school today and who knows what monsters could enter my home tomorrow? Maybe if I left home, the monsters wouldn't follow…_ '

It was an idea discarded just as quickly. She wasn't like Thalia fleeing an abusive home or Luke and Annabeth neglectful ones. She had a happy one that she wanted to keep, thank you very much, and wasn't naive enough to think that a life on the streets would equip her with the skills necessary to survive. There wasn't any guarantee that the monsters wouldn't get her there either; Annabeth was a genius, Luke a prodigy swordsman, and Thalia the freaking daughter of the King of Gods, and even they nearly died on multiple occasions!

' _I'm also not a daughter of the Big Three,_ ' she reminded herself, ' _And I know that monsters have many different ways to track down a demigod's scent. I can use that to my advantage. From now on, I'll only use payphones across the city for when I need to call Takeshi and go to the libraries to use computers. It'll be a bother but until I can protect myself, I don't have much of a choice._ '

Preventative measures would certainly lessen the risk to her family's life and she had many ideas there. If monsters could find demigods by their scent, then she would pour perfume around the entire perimeter of the house and all over the yard. She would find a way to get her hands on some celestial bronze and then melt it down to form bullet cases for her grandfather's shotgun. She would set up traps- as soon as she figured out how- and personally thin the ranks of any monsters in her city before they could attack her. She would even go to boarding school if she had to.

How did that American quote go? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and she would stack the deck to her side by finding as many ounces as possible.

' _Besides, running away won't work in my case,'_ Hikari mentally joked, trying to lessen the guilt of staying, ' _Grandfather has the resources and stubbornness to mount a nationwide manhunt and he would do it too if he thought I was skipping out on my Japanese lessons.'_

If she was going to stay in the United States, then she would probably be drafted into the war too. Since joining Kronos was out of the question- not only was it the losing side, but any demigod that wanted to hang out with beings that considered them to be food wasn't right in the head with her- she would be allied with Camp Half-Blood. Going there right now sounded like a good idea but that would mean declaring her halfblood status for all the world to hear, which, according to Riordan, attracted a lot more monsters to your location.

Better to go under the radar for now, especially since Grandfather would refuse to let her spend summer at an institution that he hadn't thoroughly vetted yet. To go there, she would have to admit her halfblood status and possibly risk an apoplexy once Grandfather realized that Fred hadn't just impregnated his daughter and ran but also condemned his granddaughter to a lifetime of being hunted by immortal monsters. And she didn't think her mother would react well to knowing that she was just one of a _long_ string of women her father seduced.

So she needed to build up a skill set soon. As a daughter of Apollo, Hikari's natural talent would lie in the fields of running away and shooting at monsters from afar, which she could work with just fine. It's not like she had a handy Curse of Achilles to keep her from a second untimely death after all.

This led to current situation, waiting for a lull in the conversation, to make her request.

"Are you sure about that musume?" Chihiro requested, her head cocked to the side to cause chin-length hair to curtain her right ear. "I didn't think you liked to exercise."

"I'm not _that_ bad Mom," she pouted. "Besides I've heard that Takeshi's practicing to join his school's track team next year."

_Trick #1: Imply that your genius cousin is getting ahead of you in some endeavor._

"He's lucky to be light-footed enough to avoid the consequences of his ridiculous pranks," her grandfather snorted, "But why would _you_ want to do something that doesn't involve a TV and a bed?"

"Well I've seen all of those awards you've won for your kyudo practice as a student, Grandfather," she said, "I thought it would be an enjoyable way to spend my afternoons. My classes are dull."

_Trick #2: Claim to be inspired by one of the many, many stories about the glory days of the past._

"Hmm, that's a good point," Satoru acknowledged, "An idle mind is the devil's playground and you _should_ have a wholesome activity for yourself. Are you sure you would like to learn kyudo though? It's more challenging and physically demanding than just standing in one place and shooting arrows. Not to mention the difficulty in finding you a teacher."

"Can't you teach me, Grandfather?" Hikari pleaded, "It would be a nice way to spend time together, don't you think?"

_Trick #4: Appeal to your grandfather's skills as a source of knowledge for the next generation._

"I don't know…" the old man hesitated, "I haven't taught anyone in a long time, Hikari."

"I'll work very hard and try my best," Hikari continued earnestly. She widened her eyes until the sky blue irises were the focus of his attention. " _Please_ say yes, Grandfather?"

_Trick #5: Be adorable._

Satoru Kurosawa gave a rather put-upon sigh, though she could see the small smile on his face. "Very well, Hikari."

"Yes!" The dark-haired girl punched her fist in the air and then watched with comical eyes as the piece of cake flew off of her fork and plopped somewhere on the floor. "Eh, huh… oops?"

x

(Hikari's Room, Greenwich, Connecticut)

"Hikari-chan, may I come in?" A soft voice called from outside the door.

"Hmm?" She looked up, momentarily distracted from her book and sitting up on her bed. "Sure Mom."

The book in question was a heavyset sci-fi novel she had stumbled across at the library yesterday. Hikari-as-Anna had been an avid reader and the habit hadn't been entirely lost in this life, regardless of the additional difficulty dyslexia had given. She could mostly handle the confusing jumble of letters because she knew how the words _should_ sound and mentally inserted the corrections as she read along. It would be harder when she moved on to more complex works but it was a manageable problem now.

As for Japanese, most words were formed by two or more symbols that dyslexia could do little to mess with. Her greatest challenge there was to put those words in order to read a coherent sentence. She focused on the subject-object-verb order there and stumbled on the right answer more often than not.

"I thought we could talk now since we haven't spent a lot of time together recently," Chihiro offered, stepping into the room with two mugs in her hand. "Orange juice?"

' _No thanks to you_ ,' was her resentful thought, before Hikari pushed it away. No, she wasn't three years old, no matter how she may have looked. She wouldn't resent her mother for trying to build a better life for them both, even if that did mean she was absent for most of the summer.

"Yes, thank you," Hikari's eyes gleamed once she saw the older woman's mug, "Can I have a sip of your drink please?"

If there was one drawback to being a child, it was that her family wouldn't give her any of the liquid ambrosia that was the wonder known as tea. She was British for Go- no, _Apollo's_ sake. Denying her tea was a cruel and unusual punishment.

"No," Chihiro replied patiently, unbothered by her daughter's pout. The only person that trick worked on was Satoru Kurosawa. "You can drink tea when you've hit the double digits."

"I'm ten at heart," Hikari muttered sulkily, accepting her orange juice. "You're so mean, Mom."

Her mother smiled brightly. "Comes with the territory musume. Now do you want to tell me the real reason you're planning to study kyudo?"

' _Is it because she's my mother or does Apollo just make it hard for all of his kids to directly lie?'_ the demigod wondered, ' _If so, that must inspire a lot of creative storytelling amongst my siblings.'_

Wasn't that a weird thought? There were probably loads of kids out there with half of her godly DNA. Riordan had never gone into depth about the Apollo Cabin, but she knew one was named Lee Fletcher and another Michael Yew. There was also Will Solace, who was going to date one of her favorite heroes, Nico di Angelo. She would get to meet Nico di Angelo!

' _Descendants of Apollo. Great taste in boyfriends since the dawn of western civilization.'_

"I wanted to learn a useful skill," Hikari informed her, since that was the truth, "Making Grandfather proud is a nice bonus."

"I feel like there should be more but if you would like to keep those reasons to yourself, then I will not begrudge you," her mother said, eyes twinkling, "I _do_ think that I should punish you for manipulating your grandfather like that though, shouldn't I?"

"Punishment?" Hikari did not like the evil smile on her mother's face.

"Yes! And I've chosen shopping!" Chihiro announced delightedly, making her daughter recoil in horror, "Ah-ah, musume, you need to be kitted out for the winter and autumn sales are coming up."

"Can't you just pick everything up for me?" Hikari whined, "I don't _like_ shopping."

Waiting in lines. Spending hours in an artificially cold white box. Being turned into a human doll. Using _public restrooms_. Hikari hated shopping.

"I know you don't musume. This is why it's called a punishment," her mother stated, "Now, your grandfather mentioned something about a closet in school…?"

"I saw a strange boy and freaked out, Mom," Hikari looked away. "It was embarrassing and stupid, and I'd really like it if we forgot about this."

Chihiro used one hand to card through her dark hair comfortingly, so similar to her own but already falling past her shoulders. "Do you mean like a criminal?"

"I don't know if he was a criminal," she mumbled, "Maybe I was just unfairly profiling?"

"I wouldn't say you have your cousin's instincts for this but I don't think you would have profiled anyone either. If you ever think that you're in danger, you would come and tell me, wouldn't you?"

Hikari looked at her mother wearily. She had been so excited to relay the first legal cases her class would be covering today. Could she really bring this smiling, innocent woman into the darkness of the Olympian world or reveal the monsters that walked around in plain daylight? No, she could not.

Chihiro Kurosawa would have to learn about her daughter's world one day but this wasn't the one.

' _Demigods are supposed to be the bridge between mankind and the gods,_ ' she thought, infuriated, ' _But no one ever talked about how hard it would be to walk between the two worlds._ '

"I'll request your help whenever I need it, Mom," Hikari promised. ' _But there aren't many problems that a demigod would need a mortal's help to solve._ '

One issue that her mother _could_ resolve though… "Mom, can we buy perfume when we go shopping?"

x

(Hemlock Dojo, Fairfield, Connecticut)

Hikari looked around curiously at the medium-sized wooden room her grandfather had been able to rent for their archery practice. This was her first lesson, so she didn't know what he had planned for her, but the large duffel bag Alex had carried in looked promising. Dressed in a yellow T-shirt and blue jeans, she was eager to learn about her divine birthright.

"Hikari, take a seat," Satoru ordered, gingerly placing his old bones into the proper position, "I have considered what our first lesson would be and decided that I shall start by explaining the art to you."

"Okay," she agreed complacently, finding a spot where the sunlight fell. The myths said that Apollo was aware of everything that the sun touched, so maybe he would like to see his daughter's first archery lesson? And if not, she certainly liked the warmth and comfort it brought her.

"Kyudo, or the martial art of archery, originated from the samurai class of feudal Japan. It was, in fact, considered to be their primary form of combat, even though katana would later become the imagery most associated with them. Samurai were often even referred to as people of the bow and horse. To this day, kyudo is prized as a ceremonial martial skill that builds focus, composure, and discipline in its students. While we will not use a full set until you're in middle school, you must remember that archery can be a dangerous activity. You must follow all of my directions without complaint or hesitation. Am I understood?"

She bowed her head in acknowledgement, causing her grandfather to smile, before he withdrew something from inside of the duffel bag. Her eyes widened at the smaller than usual, asymmetrical bow of nearly a meter's length, made of polished bamboo and hemp string.

"We shall start by familiarizing ourselves with the shape and maintenance of this bow. This is the _hankyu yumi_ , or half-bow, which is more similar to western bow and string length than the longer _daikyu_. Today, I would like you to memorize all of the joint and string positions of the bow to ensure that you will know where to place your fingers. For the string, there are five parts, beginning with the _hi-no-wa_ , or sun ring, and moving to the _uwa-zuru_ …"

' _The old man doesn't hold back, does he?_ ' Hikari moaned, trying to massage her head. Trying to keep all of those bow names and positions in her head was bloody murder, especially because her grandfather had only explained them once before showing her how to properly replace a broken string. Fortunately he had given her a small booklet afterward, so she had something to study from after dinner.

' _The things I do for love,_ ' she mentally griped, pausing by the door of the music room. Inside she could hear the sweet, flute-like sounds of her mother's bow dancing across the violin strings. Hikari stood there for a moment and closed her eyes, listening to the melody of burbling creeks and chirping birds that the sound evoked, and then opened her eyes. Yes, this was what she was doing this for.

For the next eight months, Hikari threw herself into her training with, if not genuine enthusiasm, then at least the dogged persistence inspired by an uncompromisingly harsh taskmaster. She memorized the necessary positions, learned to properly maintain her bow weekly, built up her upper body strength, and practiced drawing a rubber practice bow over and over and over again. It took four months before her grandfather drew her aside and, with tears in his eyes (which rather freaked her out), gave her a _mitsugake_ of her very own.

"Er, thank you, Grandfather?" Hikari awkwardly bowed. "I will treasure this glove always?"

Satoru performed his one-eyebrow equivalent of rolling his eyes. "I will never be able to accept the lack of understanding in children these days. _This_ , Hikari, means that you may move on to the next stage of your training."

Her eyes lit up. "You mean…?"

"Yes," he nodded proudly, "You are finally ready to use a true _hankyu_ granddaughter."

x

(Grand Central Terminal, New York, New York)

"Hikari, where are you taking me?" Her mother asked, holding tightly to the almost five-year-old's hand to ensure that she didn't get lost in the busy station crowd.

"I'm looking for a sweet shop Mom!" Convincing her mother to give her a tour of the famous station while shopping in the city hadn't been that hard to do. Now if only she could find her quarry…

"We've already passed three of them now," Chihiro protested, laughing. "What are you looking for?"

"Someplace special," the dark-haired girl tossed back, flashing a bright smile. She couldn't remember the exact name of Sally Jackson's workplace but she did recall that the woman wore a uniform of red, blue, and white. ' _Ah, that place looks promising!'_

Nearly skipping past the glass showcase of delectable chocolates, colorful wrappers, and twisted licorice concoctions, Hikari stepped into Sweet on America. Finest Sweets Since 1974 proclaimed the bronze cursive above the door, the letters dancing into unfamiliar shapes until she could mentally force them into order. The store smelled heavenly of sugar and there were spectacular displays in every direction, but Hikari only had eyes for the striking brunette stocking the front shelves.

' _So this is Sally Jackson,'_ she thought, suddenly feeling shy as she was about to meet her first canon character, ' _The mortal woman that won the heart of a God and raised a son that saved the world.'_

The Daughter of Apollo walked closer, eager to get a better look at Percy's mother. She was an uncommonly beautiful woman, with her dark brown waves and gracefully aging features, but there was something more than that. Maybe it was the way she cheerfully hummed as she went about her work or the quiet serenity of her posture but Hikari could instinctively tell that she was strong.

"Have you found the right sweet shop yet, musume?" Her mother's familiar voice drew Sally's attention away from the bags of jelly beans. Hikari could feel her mother's hands resting lightly on her shoulders as she surveyed the treats on the shelves. "Hello. I apologize if we're disrupting your work."

"No, it's fine," Sally dismissed, smiling at her mother. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Ah, I'm not sure. This is my daughter's first trip to the station and she wanted to get some candy to properly end the day."

"Well then, you've made a good choice by coming in here. We have the best chocolate in the entire station," Sally assured, her eyes moving towards the dark-haired girl, "Hello there. What would you…"

Hikari's eyes widened when she steadily met the brunette woman's. _Wow_ , did the Jacksons have a monopoly on gorgeous eyes or what? Not quite hazel or blue but somehow shifting between the two, she could see why Poseidon would be immediately attracted to this woman. She could tell the exact moment when Sally noticed her own eyes too, because her voice started to wander off in shock.

"Hi! I'm Hikari Kurosawa! I'm four-years-old," she announced, in her best childish voice, as she raised four fingers to demonstrate. Just as she hoped, the immature action had relaxed Ms. Jackson's guard, as she realized that she was merely a demigod child and not a disguised mythological figure. From behind her, Hikari could practically _feel_ her mother's disbelieving stare as her notoriously indifferent daughter went out of her way to calm a stranger.

"It's nice to meet you, Hikari Kurosawa. I'm Sally Jackson," the brunette woman replied kindly, "You know, your eyes are quite beautiful."

Hikari preened. Percy Jackson's mom thought she had nice eyes! (Chihiro's disbelief notched up another level).

"Thank you," Hikari chirped. Taking a gamble, she added. "My Mommy says that I have my Daddy's eyes."

At this point, Chihiro was looking at her daughter like she had never quite seen her before.

Fortunately, Sally was too busy studying her to notice. "Oh? Is your Daddy here with you now?"

"No. Daddy left before I was born," she said, forcing herself not to grin, "Grandfather says that he was an idiot though, so I guess it's for the best."

"Hikari!" Her mother was embarrassed enough to break through her stupor, "You shouldn't say such things! I'm so sorry for that, Miss Jackson-"

"No, no, it's okay," Sally replied, "I have a four-year-old too and he always spouts the first thing to come to his mind." A fond smile crossed her face when she spoke of Percy, and it was clear that Sally Jackson deeply loved her son.

"Does your son have your eyes?"

"No, he looks just like his father does."

"That's too bad," Hikari said, "You have very pretty eyes."

"Thank you but I think his eyes are even more beautiful. They're the color of the ocean on that one perfect sunny day," the brunette replied. "Now tell me what candy you would like to have today."

It didn't take her long to locate a suitable treat. Hikari found a thin blue bags of Jordan almonds coated in sea salt dark chocolate and picked two of them out. Her mother chose a bag of toffee for herself and some black licorice for grandfather and then paid for all of them.

"Here. I want you to give this one to your son."

"Oh, that's nice of you Hikari, but I can't really accept this," Sally refused, trying to push it away. "You don't have to buy a second one for my son."

The cashier, who had just completed the sale of the one of the most expensive products in the store and was being paid on commission, gave her fellow employee a dirty look. Sally ignored it.

"I want to," Hikari said stubbornly, "Please accept my gift."

Sally tried to refuse several more times, until her mother intervened. "Please accept my daughter's gift Miss Jackson. She can be rather persistent when an idea gets into her head and we won't be able to leave until you accept the gift."

The other woman finally accepted the bag of chocolates and Hikari managed to give her another sunny grin before Chihiro led her away. A few hours later when Alex was driving them home, her mother's grey eyes looked at her with curiosity.

"Care to explain your behavior today, musume?"

Hikari leaned back and tossed another chocolate in her mouth. "Would you think it was weird if I told you that it just felt like I should do that?"

"Honestly? Not as much as it should." Her mother shook her head, a sad smile crossing her lips, "Your dad had the habit of performing some inexplicable action that he couldn't give the reason for either. You're more like him than you know."

"Hmm," Hikari mused, looking out into the sun-dappled road. "Maybe, Mom. Maybe."


	4. I Learn That Kitsune Love Pop Tarts

(Kansai International Airport, Osaka, Japan)

" _Kari-chan! Here! Look over here!"_

In the crowded chrome, glass, and steel terminal of one of Japan's international airports, it would have been difficult for recent arrivals to spot their family members. Unless one of said members happened to be a shamelessly loud six-year-old screaming at them from his crouched spot between two decidedly unhappy-looking drivers holding plastic signs. Hikari cheerfully waved towards her favorite cousin, who enthusiastically returned it (hitting one of the driver's legs) before wiggling out of the position.

She turned pleading eyes to the man on her left. "Grandfather?"

"If you must," Satoru allowed with a sigh. Her mother tried to muffle her laughter when Hikari passed her the small, carry-on suitcase and, with only her backpack strapped on, ducked under the gate.

" _Takeshi!_ " She tackled him into a hug and then let him drag her back towards his parents. " _Hello Hiroshi-ojisan, Chiaki-obasan. It's good to see you._ "

Her aunt and uncle returned her greetings, with an indulgent smile at how enthusiastically the two cousins greeted one another. Takeshi's parents had borne him late in life, which was why there was even now a streak of grey in Uncle Hiroshi's hair, and were more relaxed about propriety as a result.

While the adults went to gather the luggage, Hikari leaned against an available wall and turned to study her cousin. Takashi Sato (their maternal grandfathers were brothers) was a tall boy of unusual colouring; his dark brown hair held undertones of russet and his tawny gold eyes almost glowed in the dark. Mischievous, quick-witted, and terribly persuasive (" _Oh, come on, Kari-chan! We can string a hammock in the trees and sleep under the stars! The adults will never know!_ "), he was by far her favorite cousin.

Incidentally, he was also the family member that most resembled her in appearance. With the exception of their hair and eye colour, they could have passed for fraternal twins of one another. Hikari incidentally found this to be hilarious; she had looked often enough in the mirror to know that she was a decidedly delicate-looking girl.

" _Did you bring the goods?"_ Her cousin asked with deadly seriousness.

"Naturally." Hikari checked to make sure that her grandfather was too far away to hear them before switching to English. "The question is… did you?"

"As if I would forget," the gold-eyed boy scoffed, drawing the shopping bag his mother had placed next to him closer and giving her a peek. Inside Hikari could see a massive, wrapped box. "Trade?"

"On the count of three," Hikari agreed, taking off her bag and sliding the zipper open. "One, two, three!" She slid the backpack across the floor, snatched up his box, and promptly undid the wrapping.

' _Cinnamon pocky, pudding gummies, choco peach tubes… Kit-Kat?'_ Hikari looked up. "You got me American candy?"

"They don't have Kit-Kats like that over in the states," he denied, unwrapping a strawberry Pop Tart, "Check out the flavors."

"Hmm, edamame soybean, hot chilli, green tea, wasabi, blueberry cheesecake… You're right, we don't have those back home." Her eyes caught the last one and brightened. "Lemon-flavored Kit-Kats? You're the best cousin _ever_!"

"I know," he replied modestly, "So have those traps worked out for you?"

"I've gotten the legs dangling noose to work so far," she reported proudly, "It caught a squirrel last week and I had to cut it loose. Look! It bit me."

She proudly showed off the small, jagged incisions on her hand that had already faded into a pale pink line. It seemed that children of Apollo had a minor healing factor because she estimated being fully healed by tomorrow. Takeshi seemed suitably impressed by her first battle scar.

"Cool!" Takeshi lowered his voice, "Have you tried it on any of the monsters in your neighborhood?"

"Ssh! Not here. Someone could be listening," she panicked, trying to shush him.

"Don't worry, Kari-chan. You're in the land of the rising sun now. None of your monsters can get to you here," her cousin assured. "So have you seen any of them?"

"I haven't seen one since the cyclops," Hikari admitted, "Lucky for me since I'm still trying to get a bull's eye on a standing target."

"You're even luckier than you know," Takeshi told her, "I think you need some special magical weapon to kill them, so none of your arrows would have done anything even if you _could_ hit them."

"How do you know that?" He was correct, of course, but none of the research they had done together had revealed the secret of celestial bronze and she hadn't known how to introduce the subject without revealing her prior knowledge.

"I'll tell you when we get home," Takeshi's smile was brimming with anticipation, "Let's just say that it's related to why I couldn't visit you last summer."

"Oh? You won't even give your favorite cousin a hint?" Her sky blue eyes looked at him pleadingly.

"You know that your grandfather is the only one who falls for that anymore, right?"

"Tch, heartless cousin," she sniffed, just as her uncle reached them with a piled on luggage cart.

" _Hikari have you been speaking English?"_ Uncle Hiroshi teased, " _I thought this was supposed to be an educational trip for you."_

" _Nope! I've been practicing my Japanese, Oji-san,"_ Hikari responded, flitting around him to grab her grandfather's hand, " _Grandfather? Can we pick up some yakitori for the ride home?"_

" _And why would we do that? Your aunts worked very hard to make sure that there would be a nice meal waiting for us."_

She promptly widened her eyes. " _Please, Grandfather?"_

" _...It's a long trip home and you do need something to eat after that terrible airline food,_ " Satoru said grudgingly. Hikari smirked. Takeshi laughed.

x

(Sato Residence, Kyoto, Japan)

The Sato family lived in a large, traditional home with a thatched roof, sliding rice panels, and an open floor plan in the countryside of the Kyoto Prefecture. Her Aunt and Uncle commuted to work in Maizuru everyday, and they usually drove Takeshi to school there too. They would pick him up on days where he had cram school and on the days that he did not, there would be a bus available. As this summer was meant to be a reunion of multiple branches of their family, Hikari would have to share a room with him.

"You can have the bed," Takeshi magnanimously announced once they'd put her suitcase down.

Hikari eyed the Western-style single bed and then the brand-new, cocoon-style sleeping bag with an electric blanket sewn inside. "No, that's fine. You should take the bed."

"You're a guest," her cousin insisted, inching closer to the bag, "It's important that you be as comfortable as possible in my home."

"But it would be rude of me to kick you off your bed," she replied, stepping closer, "Please don't trouble yourself for my comfort."

"It's no trouble at all-"

"I really do insist-"

He jumped. She pounced.

"This is not cute, Kari-chan!"

"Let go of the sleeping bag, Takeshi!"

"You let go! It was mine first!"

"It was for the guest! I'm the guest!"

"No, you're fa- Ow! Not my hair! Not my hair!"

"Stop being such a baby, you- wah!"

One second, she was tugging violently on a six-year-old's hair, trying to get him to relinquish _her_ sleeping bag, and the next Hikari was half-drowned under a violent wave of water. It pushed the two cousins to opposite sides of the wall, the dark-haired daughter of Apollo instinctively scrabbling onto the floor as she slid down wet floor. When her lower back made a sharp thunk against the wood, she opened water-clogged eyes and found herself sputtering the taste of salt out of her mouth.

"Tenshi!" Across from her, an equally wet and disheveled Takeshi was glaring at a coat.

Only it wasn't a coat, as under her disbelieving eyes, the bundle of white unfurled itself into a tiny fox kit with blue arrow marks on its brow, luminous yellow eyes, and two _very_ fluffy looking tails. The most adorable creature that she had ever seen in her life delicately licked its paw and sniffed dismissively. " _Baka Takeshi."_

She blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "Will you come home with me?"

The tiny fox looked confused, so she repeated the question again in Japanese. It cocked its head and studied her thoughtfully.

" _No,"_ the fox finally said, " _You're as flat as a board. Ask me again when you have some breasts."_

Hikari's mouth dropped open. ' _I- what did it just say?_ '

Takeshi was a little quicker on the uptake. " _Don't talk about my cousin like that, you perverted fox! She's not even six years old yet!"_

The fox stared at him blankly. " _I do not understand human years. Does that mean that she is too young to mate?"_

" _It doesn't matter how old she is. You're not allowed to flirt with my cousin, ever. It's a rule."_

" _I did not think that you were family. You were using the conception ritual on the floor today."_

" _Huh? Conce-"_

" _It means you were mating, Baka-Takeshi."_

" _What?! No, no, no! I already told you that she was family. We were fighting over the sleeping bag!"_

" _Why? There is another one in the room next door. Can you not just steal it?"_

" _We can't just- actually, that's not a bad idea,"_ Takeshi looked over at the other child, " _Cousins Anata and Tomochi are going to use that room. Want to take one of their sleeping bags?"_

"I don't care about the sleeping bags now," Hikari exclaimed, trying to struggle back to her feet, "What is that?"

" _He_ is my surprise," the boy's golden eyes danced with humor as he walked over to steady her, " _Cousin, I would like to introduce you to Tenshi, Herald of Inari Okami, Kami of fertility, rice, tea and sake. Patron of foxes, swordsmiths and merchants. Sprit of agriculture, industry, and worldly success and also my divine sponsor. Tenshi, this is my cousin, Kurosawa Hikari, daughter of an Olympian._ "

"You- you- there's no way-?" Her look of complete and utter disbelief pulled a grin on his face.

"Yeah, turns out that you're not the only demigod in the family, cousin."

x

(Takeshi's Room, Kyoto, Japan)

"I can't _believe_ you didn't tell me," Hikari repeated, for the fourth time now.

Takeshi made a soft hushing noise as he dragged the second sleeping bag into the room. She helped him arrange it next to the indention on the floor where his bed used to be- dragging that out was _murder_ \- and then plopped down beside him. Her cousin opened another two Pop Tarts and tossed one to the pure white, perverted kitsune. Tenshi snatched it out of the air with one of his tails.

"He's addicted to those things," Takeshi explained, noticing the direction of her stare, "It's been a big hit on my allowance since the prices are so inflated."

"I can't _believe_ you didn't tell me."

"I wanted to tell you, Kari-chan. I did," he winced, "But I need to get permission from Mitami-hime before I could tell any mortals about my patron kami."

"Patron?" That was a strange way to refer to your parent, god or not.

"Biologically, I'm the son of Hiroshi Sato and Chiaki Kurosawa and I always will be. They're my parents after all. But my- er, soul, I guess- has extra spiritual energy inside it. Inari-sama overshadowed by parents, _both_ of them, on the day that they had me and that's why I'm considered a demigod. My soul is half-mortal and half-god."

' _So he doesn't have to deal with being abandoned by either parent,_ ' Hikari summarized, a flash of jealousy being quickly suppressed.

"Okay, I have a lot of questions here and your answers aren't very helpful without context," the dark-haired girl ordered, "Tell me the story from the top."

"Ah, well like I said before, my patron saint is Inari-Okami, one of the main Kami in Shinto. Tenshi here is one of his messenger foxes and is currently assigned to the lowly task of guiding me through my training. At the summer solstice after each of Inari's disciples turn five, a fox lures them to the woods and tests them. If they pass, then they become novice practitioners of Inari's Code."

"So you obviously passed. What would happen if you had failed?" she interrupted.

He grimaced. "Tenshi would have eaten me."

She stuck her tongue out at the perverted fox. "I can't believe anyone would name him 'angel' then."

"I know, right?" Takeshi agreed, causing the white fox to narrow his eyes. While unable to understand English, his grasp of tones was accurate enough for the tails to wave warningly in the air. " _Calm down Tenshi. Kari-chan only complimented your name._ Honestly, he can be such a drama queen."

"You seem surprisingly okay with the idea of being eaten," Hikari pointed out, a concerned frown crossing her face. ' _Takeshi has shown signs of ruthlessness and craftiness before but this worries me.'_

"I had months to, well, not _accept_ the idea but come to terms with it." The golden-eyed boy hesitated, "The Kami believe in culling the crowd for those who are weak. It is merely how they think. I don't have any power to change the system, Kari-chan. If I had, then this wouldn't be the way acolytes are chosen for my patron. Shouldn't I merely be relieved for being one of those to pass?"

She gave a noncommittal hum and gestured for him to continue.

"It's been over a year since then and Tenshi's been with me ever since. He's coated in foxfire so my parents can't see or hear him and he's been giving me my lessons after school. Inari-sama has a pretty established lesson plan- for the first two years, you learn the basics, then the next six, you specialize in your field, and then you spend the rest of your life, in part-time servitude to the kami."

" _Servitude to the kami?!"_ The blue-eyed girl growled out, " _What the hell are you playing at, kitsune?"_

Takeshi's eyes widened. "Hikari, no!"

She didn't get to say anything in response to that because Tenshi's golden eyes snapped to her direction and began to ominously glow. A muffled shudder escaped her mouth as her body slammed to the floor, incredible weight pressing down on each and every part of her body. Pressure. Pressure. Pressure. She was going to be crushed on this floor. She was going to die. She was going to-

" _Nemoto_!" The pressure abruptly end and Hikari's body curled up to stop its convulsions. There were tears falling down her face when she was able to look up from the pain. The entire room felt like it was plunged into shadow as her ears made a distinct popping sound. She saw her cousin's back to her, wisps of bluish green dancing around Takeshi's russet-brown head.

" _-better learn from me than risk an insult to a less forgiving being,"_ Tenshi was saying.

" _I don't care what excuses you have for this, your actions were unforgivable!_ " Takeshi snapped back, " _Leave my house now! I do not welcome you, Tenshi of the Okori Pass."_

The fox's tails flared back and for a second, Hikari feared that another attack would come. Then they retreated back and stony eyes focused on the boy. She got the impression that a insult of great significance had just been made by her cousin.

" _You would skip your lessons for the duration of a fortnight?"_ Tenshi demanded, " _And what then?"_

" _Should you wish to resume them then I will be your humble servant on the day that my cousin leaves these shores,"_ the boy replied formally.

" _Very well,"_ the fox's eyes glittered with an unfamiliar emotion before they fell on her. She almost recoiled from the poison in those orbs. " _I will see you then, Takeshi of_ Inari-Okami."

Her cousin bowed his head and the two children watched with baited breath as the fox turned and jumped into the air. Under her fascinated eyes, the air around him rippled slightly as though a heat wave was passing by and then Tenshi had disappeared. Takeshi's shoulders sagged with relief.

"So, on a score from 1 to 10, how badly did I screw up?" Hikari braced her side and pulled herself up. She then dragged herself to the largest patch of sunlight in the room and curled up there.

"I'd have to say a 6." Takeshi smiled at her disbelieving expression, "I had the same reaction when I learned about the system too and my punishment was the broken leg from 'falling off of a tree'."

"I see," she paused, "Your tutor is…"

"Not as harsh as you probably think. Kitsune receive an additional tail for every century of life and Tenshi's more relaxed than most for an almost 300 year old demon fox." Her cousin headed to his dresser and pulled out a small wooden chest. From inside, he withdrew a length of rice paper inscribed with the words for Inari and 'cleansing'. "Here. Take this ofuda and tuck it under your shirt. The last of the yokai should trickle out of your body in the next hour."

She followed his directions and then pulled him down beside her. Holding his hands tightly in her own, she met worried golden-brown eyes with determined sky blue ones. "Do you need me to sneak you out in my luggage Takeshi?"

A smile cracked on his face. "No, I'm fine here, thanks."

Seeing the doubt on her face, he continued. "The Kami here are a lot more… rigid, I suppose, then the Olympians in the U.S., but they are not unnecessarily cruel. Their demigods are contacted at a young age, provided a chance to develop their skillset, and then given the chance to serve, according to their choice. Most people simply choose a minor task for their patron saint and live out the rest of their lives avoiding the mythological world as much as possible. Unlike Greeks, they also tend to die of old age."

"If you show them the proper respect and deference, then there shouldn't be any reason for you to get hurt," he added, pointedly. Hikari flushed.

"Is that what you're going to do, Takeshi? Complete your training and then live as normal a life as possible?" The American demigod probed. It was the path she would have taken in his place.

But then, her cousin had always shown more ambition than her. He averted his eyes.

"Ah… I was doing really well in my lessons, Kari-chan. I'm not much of a swordsman but I have already advanced months ahead in my magical lessons, and I'm not doing too poorly in the decorum classes either. I was thinking of applying for the post of Guardian one day."

"Alright," she took a deep breath, "Let's assume that I have no idea what being a Guardian entails."

Encouraged by the lack of explosion, her cousin continued. "A Guardian is sort of a cross between a diplomat, judge, and gatekeeper in a certain assigned area. They're supposed to liaison with the resident and visiting Kami, advocate for the humans in their area, arbitrate disputes between yokai, and keep records. It's a full-time position in the Shinto realm, so the Kami usually arrange a way to ensure that they're financially _very_ comfortable. The current one in South Kyoto mysteriously inherited a lot of money from a distant relative of his."

Her eyelid twitched. "And in return you have to spend your time with immortal spirits that will casually murder you for the slightest insult?"

"It's a bit like being in the yakuza, isn't it?" Takeshi joked, his smile fading at her expression, "Kari-chan, please don't be upset with me. Think of those children that are being killed if they fail Inari-sama's test. As a Guardian, I will be a member of the Lower Council and be able to change unfair policies such as those."

"Can't someone else change those policies?" Hikari frowned. "I don't like this."

"It's not your choice, Kari-chan. Just like it is not mine whether or not you stay in the states. Did you know that war is brewing there?" At her surprised look, he elaborated. "I selected an _omikuji_ after blessing your name before this summer. The exact message was 'war and death will come to these shores'. Will you flee to Japan?"

She looked away. He read the answer on her face. "The answer is 'no' then."

"I don't want you to be a Guardian."

"I don't want you to be a soldier," he returned, his smile flitting back on. "We will just have to make sure that we both survive our choices, right?"

"Easier for me than you," she shot back, "I would run away from the fight. You would invite trouble to your door."

"I would not!" Takeshi looked deeply offended. "I would sneak into its house and poke it in the eye."

There were three whole seconds where she just gaped at her cousin, before Hikari tossed her head back and laughed. If that laughter was a little frantic and hysterical, then the other child had the grace not to call her out on it as he waited for it to stop. When she finally did, she was crying again.

"Your mother will think that you're bullying me," she hiccuped. "I'll tell her that you were."

"Glad to see you're back, Kari-chan." The golden-eyed boy bit his lip. "I know you think that my decision is ridiculous but there are many other benefits to being a high official in the Kami's government. My family will be protected all through my service, I'll have full access to the twelve imperial libraries, and-"

"Shinto has _twelve_ imperial libraries?" Hikari interrupted.

Takeshi laughed. "You _would_ focus on that. Don't worry. I'm sure the Olympians have something similar."

' _Not bloody likely. I knew that the Greeks were painfully underdeveloped in infrastructure when Riordan revealed Camp Jupiter and New Rome but this is ridiculous.'_

"You know there's a lot of wonder to be found in the spirit world, Kari-chan," Takeshi began hopefully, "Maybe I can show you a little of that while you're here?"

She wavered. Her survivor's instinct was warring against her desire to learn more about a world she never knew. The internal struggle continued for a few second before she came to a decision. "Can we visit one of the libraries?"

x

(Kita Pier District, Maizuru, Kyoto)

"Fish guts and temperatures in 92 degree Fahrenheit," Hikari commented, trying to breathe through the scarf around her mouth, "You definitely know how to treat a lady cousin."

"There's a lady here, Kari-chan?" He dodged her absentminded swat and withdrew another tag from his pocket. "I'm going to stick this to your arm, okay? It won't activate until it comes into contact with water but when it does, it'll turn your body into smoke."

Hikari eyed the short strip of paper with weariness and then the murky sea water even more so. Takeshi had badgered their mothers into letting him take her to the local bookstore, weaving a lie so sincere and sweet that she was almost surprised when they passed the store by.

The entire time that he was lying though, it had felt like a pinging sound was echoing in her head. When she told him that, her cousin hypothesized that her ability was borne from the fact that truth was an aspect of her father's domain. ("Don't look so surprised, Kari-chan! Anyone could have figured it out. You practically soak in the sunlight whenever you can.")

They were a weird pair. The boy who was born to weave falsehoods and the human lie detector.

"Takeshi, you do remember that I can't swim, right?" It was a skill she had never picked up in her last life and hadn't gotten around to acquiring in this one either.

"Ryujin-sama's library is the closest one on hand," Takeshi told her firmly, "Trust me?"

' _Ryujin, Kami of ocean, tides, fishermen, and storms. Basically a dragon version of Poseidon that lives in a castle of red and white coral under the sea,'_ she recalled. "I will haunt you for the rest of your life if you let me drown today."

"Eh, I know a few rituals to get rid of troublesome spirits." The boy placed the tag on her arm and, after a flash of light, withdrew it. The tag stuck to her arm, unbound by the laws of gravity. "Please remember to be respectful and quiet around any of the spirits."

She nodded. The way Tenshi nearly crushed her yesterday wouldn't leave her mind any time soon.

"I'm going to summon an _Ikuchi,_ a sea serpent that drips oil from its underbelly scales, that will carry us down to the library," he explained, withdrawing a copper circle with a square-shaped hole at the center. He flipped it into the air and, with another heat shimmer, it disappeared. " _Ikuchi, wanderer of the tides, I beckon you to the mortal realm. Shadow the mind and glaze the eyes for the task that I request of you. Accept my coin as gratitude for your benevolence.'_

' _Not too different then a payment to Iris then,'_ Hikari thought _, 'But then- Iris never looked like this!'_

It seemed like time had stood still the dark-haired girl, until she looked around and realized that it didn't _seem_ like anything. Workmen were standing mid-step as still as statues, birds were hanging motionless in the air, even the wind seemed to have fallen stale. She couldn't focus on the eeriness of it all though because her eyes were fastened to the water where a shadow was rapidly growing larger and larger as it rose up from the sea floor.

' _Bloody. Hell_ ,' Hikari summed up, as the _Ikuchi_ broke through the water. It was as massive as any of the ships on the pier, with the girth of the ancient tree outside of the Soto home and covered with glistening black scales. At closer look, she could see that the scales were a green so dark as to be black, but the actual black color came from the drips of oil falling under it. The _Ikuchi_ had a strongly serpentine resemblance and thin, wavy whiskers moving sinuously around its muzzle.

Takeshi bowed. An elbow hit her in the ribs. Hikari bowed.

" _Thank you for your prompt arrival, Ikuchi-san. We are in your debt,"_ her cousin said smoothly.

Rather than reply, the dragon positioned itself parallel to the pier so they could easily jump on. Before she had a chance to question the insanity of riding a dragon leagues deep into the ocean just to visit a library, Takeshi jumped on. Not about to leave her cousin alone, Hikari swallowed down her terror and gingerly took a step forward.

' _This isn't so bad,_ ' the demigod considered. The thick oil stuck to the dragon's body anchored her to its scales until she had to exert considerable effort to trudge forward. She followed Takeshi forward until she sat down by the base of the dragon's neck, legs around its body, arms tightly gripping her cousin.

"Even if you're scared, Kari-chan, keep your eyes wide open!" Takeshi had a giddy smile on his face.

The _Ikuchi_ _moved_. Hikari opened her mouth and _screamed_.

The serpentine dragon swooped down, entering the water headfirst and creating a big splash. From the corner of her eye, she saw the seagulls moving again as cold water hit her knees and then her world exploded into light. When her eyes could blink again, her mouth was still open but no sound was escaping it. And even more wondrously, she couldn't taste any salt water on her tongue.

She lifted her head up from Takeshi's back and stared at the back of his head. Her arms could clearly feel the boy's shirt clutched in her hands, but all Hikari could see was a smoky black figure that vaguely formed the shape of a human male. Then she was looking around and it was as though the entire ocean had been lit up under the sun. The darkness of the depth was meaningless to the streaks of blue and orange and green that passed by her eyes- _was that a whale?_ \- as the _Ikuchi_ rapidly traversed the seas.

Hikari didn't know how long she had been clinging to her cousin's back when the _Ikuchi_ started to slow. Blurs of light became swaths of sand banks and schools of fish and then, a pinprick of red appeared. It grew larger and larger until the _Ikuchi_ ducked under an arch of sandstone and a castle rose from the bottom of the sea. It was merely a library and not Ryujin-sama's main residence but she found that hard to believe when glimpsing the splendor of red and white below her.

A hand squeezed her own and she looked up to see Takeshi turning around. He gave her a bright smile and she wholeheartedly returned it. ' _This is the most remarkable thing I've ever seen._ '

The ride was soon over as the Ikuchi came to a rest at the footsteps of some massive white stairs. Takeshi jumped down first and then caught her when she stumbled down after him (her legs felt like violently shriveled jelly). This time her cousin didn't have to prompt her to fall into a bow.

After watching the _Ikuchi_ fly away, Hikari let her cousin help her up the stairs and through the massive doors. When they entered, there was another brief flash and suddenly she wasn't some smoke monster anymore. She was also fully dry and breathing in oxygen.

"This section of the library is for demigods," Takeshi told her, answering her unspoken question, "Since most of us can't breathe underwater, Ryujin-sama's disciples supposedly being the exception, they set this up for us."

"Supposedly?" Hikari's interest was piqued.

"Well, I've never met any disciples of Ryuujin-sama."

"Not even in this library?"

"We're not allowed to talk here. We have to pick up our books and move to a private room to study."

"So how many disciples have you met?"

"Er, two. The Guardian of my region and one of the other students of Inari-sama that I spar with every week. Why?"

"No reason. Let's go the library," Hikari answered, her mind flitting around the recent discovery. ' _Isolated study area to ensure that information is controlled. Decentralized teaching to keep the demigods from gaining leverage. Awarding loyalty to the regime by giving access to full breadth of knowledge. My, my, my_ someone's _afraid of an uprising here.'_

Her musings on the part of the Japanese Pantheon was abandoned when passed the corridor. There were a series of black and white pictures of demigods, many of them dated after the development of colored pictures even, that led to another massive door. This one was made of a smooth, pinkish-red coral that soundlessly swung open without a touch.

' _Paranoid, controlling kami or not, I think I'd sign up in a heartbeat for a library like this.'_ It was a cavernous room, so massive that she couldn't see the end and so tall that she couldn't find the ceiling. To the immediate left were coral stairs that led up to an endless number of walkways and before her were shelves that seemed to have organically grown from the floor into tasteful cubby-like shapes filled with scroll. In neat Japanese lettering were topics and years written on tiny bronze plaques.

A few meters away from her was a librarian checking out one brown-haired kid's books. He was wearing a sweater vest and brown slacks that wouldn't have looked out of place anywhere in suburban Connecticut, if not for his shark head, inky black scales, and pointed beard of ice.

" _Samebito_ , servants of Ryuujin-sama and Wardens of Knowledge," Takeshi whispered in her ear. Immediately the shark-man's head turned to their direction, glittering emerald eyes filled with disapproval, and her cousin gave an apologetic smile back.

Not wanting to get her cousin in trouble, Hikari patted his hand comfortingly. Then she tossed her shoulders back, took a deep breath, and marched forward. Time to see what information this imperial library had on the Greek Gods.

x


	5. I Deputize A Toddler Cyclops

(Wilderness, Kyoto, Japan)

' _If this plan doesn't work out, then Takeshi will avenge my death. Probably,'_ Hikari thought, trying to reassure herself. Either that, or her cousin would wake up, track her down, and kill her himself.

It was still early enough that the sky was painted pink and grey as she scrabbled down yet another grassy hill in the sparsely wooded forest beside the Sato home. She had snuck out at daybreak, tip-toeing past the elderly folks drinking tea in the kitchen and carrying a bag full of supplies with her. She would have brought Takeshi along but the older boy would have disapproved and refused to let her go. And since she was terrible at lying, it just seemed easier to sneak out when he was well and truly dead to the world.

' _The book said that kitsune made their homes in burrows by the riverside,'_ the dark-haired girl recalled, carefully trying to isolate the sound of running water from all of the other noises in the forest. ' _Maybe if I call out his name…'_

" _Tenshi. Tenshi. Where are you, Tenshiiiii…"_ Hikari rather hoped not to stumble across another hiker here. She probably looked like a crazy person shouting up to the trees. " _Tenshi. Come out, Tenshi!_ "

She had spent maybe half an hour stumbling around the woods calling for a snooty fox spirit when her stomach started grumbling. Maybe it was time to take a break and eat one of her Pop Tarts.

' _I will pay you back Takeshi,_ ' Hikari thought solemnly, before taking a large bite. Strawberry was her cousin's favorite but she would accept any flavor with how hungry she was now. She was most of the way through the sweet treat when a rustling from the side caught her attention. Holding her breath, the dark-haired girl tried not move. Takeshi had said that these woods were safe but…

Maybe it's an axe murder. Or a dragon. Or a demon that liked to eat little Americans girls. Or a pint-sized bald kid with a pink dress and one eye.

"Er… hi?" Hikari ventured carefully, once it became clear that the supernatural being wasn't going to speak. The female sort-of cyclops wasn't even looking at her; her brown eyes were focused hungrily on the Pop Tart in her hand.

At the sound of her voice, the child demon (and it barely even reached her waist) jumped. " _Oo cans see me, nee-chan?"_ she lisped.

" _Yes, I can,"_ Hikari smiled. When her life wasn't in any imminent danger, the mini-sized monster was sort of cute. " _Would you like some of this snack?"_

The Japanese-cyclops nodded eagerly and she handed the rest of her breakfast over. " _I'm Hikari Kurosawa. Who are you?"_

" _Tomo!"_ Tomo said, biting down on her snack.

" _How old are you Tomo?_ " The monster raised up two fingers.

" _Wow, two years old? That's pretty big."_ Hikari knelt down, trying to make herself as unthreatening as possible. " _I'm looking for someone Tomo. Do you think you can help me find him?"_

The cyclops looked unsure so she reached into her pocket and withdrew a grape candy. " _Please?"_

" _Oo nee-chan wooking for?"_ Tomo asked, after accepting the candy.

" _A grumpy white fox with two tails and marks on his forehead,"_ she noticed the change in the child's behavior, " _You know him?"_

" _Tenshi-sama wive in the forest. He's stwongest here,"_ Tomo said, awed, " _Ans you call him gwumpy!"_

" _Yeah, I'm just an idiot that way._ " A crooked smile crossed her face, " _Can you take me there?"_

It took another three pieces of candy but Hikari was eventually led to a clearing less than five minutes walk from the river. Tomo had scampered off as soon as they reached the place but that was fine since Hikari could see the glowing yellow eyes from within the shadowed burrow. The dark-haired girl plopped down on the least wet patch of soil two meters away from the home and grimaced. Those jeans would have to be washed later.

" _Hello. I'm Takeshi's younger cousin. You may remember me from some stupid words that I said yesterday,_ " Hikari began, " _I came here to apologize. My words were based on the love and concern I had for my cousin but it was a sentiment that should not have been conveyed so rudely._ "

Silence. " _My cousin told me a little of his lessons. He has a lot of respect for you."_

Silence. " _I am grateful that you would teach him the skills he needs to survive in this world."_

Silence. " _I have Pop Tarts."_

A slow, languid blink and then a white snout poked out of the shelter. " _Pop Tarts?"_

" _Eleven of them to show how sorry I am for my words yesterday,_ " Hikari said earnestly, " _Strawberry._ "

Tenshi gracefully exited the burrow, sat on his haunches, and regarded her as though he was a king and she his particularly dim-witted servant girl. " _You shall present to me your offerings, sun-child._ "

Trying to hide her surprise at how easily the kitsune isolated her godly parent, she passed the bag over. It was a good half of her cousin's stash and if he didn't get angry for sneaking out without him, than he definitely would for stealing these. " _I also beg that this master kitsune provides this lowly one with an audience."_

See? She could crack open an etiquette book too.

Tenshi used one sharp claw to rip open the first wrapper. " _You may speak."_

" _This one begs Tenshi-sama to grant his benevolence to his young and foolish student. Takeshi spoke out of turn, true, but he shall have no progress without the generosity and wisdom of your guidance."_

Was that sufficient groveling? It sounded like sufficient groveling.

Tenshi sniffed. " _And why should a fool be bestowed a master's teachings?_ "

Apparently not. " _You have taken a worm and brought from him a fool. Tenshi-sama's magnificence will surely turn this fool into a tolerable disciple._ "

" _You are not wrong,"_ Tenshi acknowledged, making her hold her breath, " _Once shall I extend my forgiveness to Takeshi-baka."_

Hikari released her breath. One task down and one more to go.

" _Why have you not left yet? Your audience is done."_

" _This one would hope that Tenshi-sama may accept a student for the duration of this one's visit."_

Not receiving an immediate refusal, she continued. " _This one's mother sends care packages to family every month and may be persuaded to buy many strawberry Pop Tarts for Tenshi-sama's pleasure."_

" _I am listening."_

" _Other Pop Tarts may be purchased as well, such as cinnamon and chocolate…"_

x

(Wilderness, Kyoto, Japan)

" _The children of the Western Sun God have commonly focused on four branches of their inheritance. The first is archery, the most common specialization, the most combat-oriented skill, and the one that your mortal shall be teaching you. The second is healing, the second-most common path and one that I cannot teach you, as it does not fall under Inari-sama's domain. The third is photokinesis, or the creation and manipulation of visible light. And the rarest is prophecy, which cannot be taught."_

" _Then you'll teach me the third one?"_ Hikari almost bounced on her feet in excitement. This wasn't a power that Riordan explored in the series!

" _Yes. The kitsune are masters of illusion and trickery,"_ Tenshi stated proudly, " _Your powers will be inferior to mine as you may only control one of the senses but I shall ensure that you are not entirely incompetent when my teachings are done._ "

Hikari tried to exchange ' _are-you-kidding-me'_ looks with her cousin over the fox's casual arrogance, but Takeshi merely scowled and looked away. He was still upset over her stunt earlier in the day.

The dark-haired girl bit her tongue and tried to ignore the guilt churning in her stomach. She did what she had to do and she refused to regret it.

" _Now, unlike the Kami of the East that seek to keep balance by diverting the spiritual energies already present in the world and returning power to the heavens and earth, the Western powers prefer to impose their will on reality,"_ Tenshi lectured, his tone betraying his opinion on the matter, " _However inferior this method may be, it is unfortunately the only path available to you. Therefore I have drawn on the readings available to me of the Western Pantheon- why are you waving, girl?"_

" _Sorry. This is the mortal method for indicating that a student has a question."_

" _I understand that you mortals are slow but I haven't even_ begun _the subject yet."_

" _It is not about the topic, Tenshi-sensei. I was wondering if I could borrow the books you have on the Western Pantheon?"_

" _I shall make whichever readings I consider necessary to your study available to you."_

It was perfect but at least it was something. " _Thank you, Tenshi-sensei."_

" _Hmph. You will bring another Pop Tart for our lesson tomorrow. And a finely bristled brush. My fur is in need of some grooming,"_ the fox informed her imperiously, " _Now, where was I? Inferior methods, available readings- ah, yes. Your people have a direct connection to their godly parent's domain and draw on this power when they exercise their gifts. Thus, our first step shall be for you to familiarize yourself with your father's domain._ "

' _By sitting in the sunlight? Isn't that what I always do?'_ Hikari thought. "Only that Tenshi-sensei?"

" _It would be ideal if you could meditate in the sunlight until you have isolated your spiritual connection to your father's domain, but no. We do not have the luxury of that time. Instead you shall walk around the garden, stepping into and out of shadows, while exercising your eye for detail. Bring a sketchbook and look for markings- fox paws, specifically- that I have imprinted around the garden. Draw the locations that I have marked and pay attention to how your energies change when you are directly in the sunlight. Understand?"_

" _Yes, Tenshi-sensei. How many markings am I supposed to find?"_

" _Did you think I would make it that simple for you, girl? You will find as many marks as there are present in the garden,"_ the kitsune chuckled. Hikari wondered if she was the only one who heard fire and brimstone cackle behind the innocent sound. " _As an added motivation, I shall eat your dessert for every night that all of the marks aren't found._ "

" _How generous of you,_ " Hikari deadpanned, risking a look at her cousin. Takeshi still seemed upset but there was a small twitch around his mouth.

She followed the white kitsune's orders for the rest of the day, climbing trees, crawling through bushes, and even poking around a koi pond (getting smacked by a carp's tail was a unique experience), to find as many marks as possible. They were surprisingly easy to draw once she found them, since Apollo, being the ideal of an unmarried, youthful male, was talented in all of the arts. She didn't think that the second part of the fox's orders were possible until noon, when she sat down in the shade and felt inexplicably more tired than just a few seconds ago.

Hikari tentatively placed one hand out into the light and felt some of the tiredness ebb away.

"Brilliant," she whispered. Nothing could wipe that massive smile off her face for the rest of the day, not even Tenshi's demands to hand over her dessert later on.

"Here." She looked up to see a mochi ice cream ball dropped on her plate. The brown-haired boy sat down beside her. "Tenshi lied about the paw marks. You found all of them."

"I know," Hikari responded, tapping her head, "Human lie detector remember?"

"No matter how useful that ability is, I'd still prefer being able to lie," Takeshi commented, taking a bite of his own dessert, "Is that why you didn't wake me up? Because you wouldn't be able to lie?"

"I can't lie _directly_ ," she corrected, "For example, Cousin Kairi's dress really does make her eyes pop out." They both looked over at the fourteen-year-old's mid-sized, multicolored, and metallic monstrosity for a moment and then promptly turned away to giggle uncontrollably.

"Okay, okay, so why didn't you wake me up?" Takeshi asked, once he could stop laughing.

"You wouldn't have let me go," Hikari stated, matter-of-factly. He tried to open his mouth to disagree. "No, you wouldn't. Even if you didn't think it was dangerous, losing all those snacks would kill you."

"You're paying me back for that." She nodded.

"And extra." A slower nod.

"And cleaning our room for your entire vacation." A begrudging nod.

"And telling Mom that you stole the extra sleeping bag." She shoved the moshi ball in his mouth.

x

(Takeshi's Room, Kyoto, Japan)

"No, seriously, how do you _know_ all of this?"

"Japanese demigods don't have prophetic dreams?"

"Oh, please, like you're some kind of oracle. Did you stalk them?"

"Prophecy is one of my father's domains, you know."

"So you _do_ stalk them!"

"One of them's in Canada, Takeshi! How am I supposed to stalk him?" Hikari irritably pushed the papers across the desk and then stood up to pace. "Dammit, these details are so vague!"

"Ooh, _someone_ just said a bad word…" Takeshi laughed when she snapped her annoyed gaze to him. "Look, you have a lot of weird, personal details about these random kids lives, Hikari. I want to know how you know. And I'm not buying that prophecy shtick."

' _Can I share this with him?'_ she hesitated, ' _I need help from_ somebody _and Takeshi's the only one that knows about my demigod powers. And he'll be safe from the Olympians here._ '

This was the only secret she had never shared with him. The one secret that she had never shared with anyone and one that had poked and prodded at her mind every night. How did this happen? _Why_ did this happen? Was she the only one to be reincarnated? Did someone give this new life to her and if they did, then what would be expected in return?

It would be so _easy_ to share this burden with Takeshi. Clever and loyal, he would be the ideal sounding board for her…

Hikari shook her head. "I can't tell you."

There were rules to this reincarnation business, she suspected, even if those rules were not yet clear to her. It was all too possible that telling Takeshi the truth would put him in danger beyond what could reasonably be expected in a demigod's life.

Her cousin shrugged. "I can accept that."

She could see his disappointment though as he plucked the first profile and handed it over.

"Do you want to go over them and see if there's something you missed?"

"Yeah, let's do that," Hikari looked down on one of the most detailed pages, "Annabeth Chase. Age: 5. Blonde hair and grey eyes. Mother: Athena, Goddess of Wisdom. Father: Frederick Chase, Professor of Military Strategy at West Point. One of her cousins is a Norse demigod. Her home is in Virginia. She's smart and talented with a knife. Her family life is pretty bad, so she'll run away from home soon and try to survive on her own."

"Brave girl," Takeshi commented, raising one eyebrow.

Hikari smiled. "You have no idea."

The next two profiles were for Luke and Thalia. For the fourth, she offered a warning first. "Greek demigods aren't supposed to know about Romans and vice versa. Jason Grace is the full-brother of Thalia Grace and the only demigod of son of Jupiter. He has blonde hair and, I think, blue eyes. His powers focus towards the sky aspect of his father's domain…"

She was going to have to write out all of this information and memorize it before returning to the states. No way could she risk leaving a written record of the Olympian's dirty little secrets in their territory. Takeshi's willingness to keep the papers with him were a huge boon.

' _One hundred Pop Tarts,_ ' she swore, ' _I will empty my entire piggy bank if I have to, cousin._ '

The major players of the first war were easy enough. It was the next series that she had trouble with.

"Leo Valdez. Age: 4 or 5 maybe. Father: Hephaestus, God of Forges. Mother: Esmeralda, or maybe Esperanza. She works as a mechanic. Black hair and brown eyes. He can control fire. His mother dies in a fire-related accident and his aunt sends him off to foster care. I think he lives somewhere in the south but not in a coastal city. Maybe Arizona or Nevada."

"Texas?" Takeshi suggested, naming one of the only states that he knew. His cousin's eyes lit up so he scribbled that down next to the other options.

"Next is Piper McLean. Mother: Aphrodite, Goddess of Love. Her father either is or will be a famous actor but I don't know his name. Brown hair and her eyes change color. She's part Cherokee and can use Charmspeak, which is like hypnosis using only your voice. Her mom gives her a famous knife from the Trojan War. Leo and Piper meet at a Wilderness School for delinquent kids."

"Frank Zhang. Father: Mars, God of War. Mother: Name unknown, but dies in war. He lives in a mansion in Canada with his grandmother. One of his ancestors was a descendant of Poseidon, so he can shapeshift into different animals. His life is tied to a piece of wood; once its burned out, he dies."

"Hazel Levesque. Father: Pluto, God of the Underworld. Her mother is dead and she's related to some terrible event related to that. She used to live in New Orleans and she can control the earth. That's all I know about her."

The final profile done, she tossed her body down on the sleeping bag and folded her arms. "This is hopeless. I can't think of anything else."

"How much more do you need?" Her cousin dragged her back up and shuffled through the papers. "Do you want to contact any of them?"

She hesitated. ' _Luke and Annabeth will reach Camp Half-Blood safely and Thalia will be returned to human form when Percy gets the fleece. I can't contact the di Angelo siblings and Jason's out of reach too. I don't know when Hazel got resurrected but she's probably wandering the Fields of Asphodel now. Percy's location is the only one I can definitively reach._ '

"I'd like to contact Percy, Leo, Piper and Frank, if I can," she admitted, "Any ideas?"

"Not sure how the foster system works but you've got a last name and possible location to work with there," Takeshi consoled, "For Piper, can't you write a fan letter to her dad or something? It's possible that you can contact her that way. And for Frank… if his family lives in a mansion but his mom became a soldier, then they're old money. Zhang isn't a common Canadian surname either so you might be able to track him down with enough research."

"How do you always make everything sound so easy?" Hikari sat up, another concern occurring to her, "Do you think I _should_ contact them?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Takeshi shrugged. "I _will_ say that your pantheon is going to make a little girl run away from her home because monsters keep trying to kill her. There's something really wrong with that. Even if I have to play fawning servant to my Gods, at least I have a support structure."

"You have a point there," Hikari allowed, mind spinning with possibilities, "The current system doesn't do enough. Greek demigods deserve more. At the very least, it shouldn't be an achievement to reach your twenties there…"

x

(Sato Residence, Kyoto, Japan)

"Hikari!"

"No mercy in war cousin!"

"Stop whining and get the wench's flag Takeshi-baka!"

She nearly burst into laughter when she heard the sound of her cousin tripping and crashing over the upturned tree root she had hidden. Disguising or changing minor details around her was the extent of her abilities so far but they were enough to slow him down while she ran through the woods.

' _Well that and my flash bang trick,'_ she smirked, bright white light sparks dancing across her fingers.

Takeshi was clever, quick-footed, and knew these woods like the back of his hand, but he had one major weakness. He refused to seriously compete against his 'younger' cousin. She had taken full advantage of it by half-blinding him at the start of their one-on-one flag race.

' _Not that it's the only trick I can play,_ ' Hikari reached the river spot and slowed her pace moderately as she jumped across the stones to the other side. Each other rock her foot hit became hazy and transparent against the water. This would make it rather difficult for a certain golden-eyed boy to follow. The tug at the pit of her stomach became more insistent and she mentally released the illusions on the trees.

' _Damn, I think I'm going to keel over now.'_ Her breaths came out in heavy pants. Calling on her father's domain was ridiculously draining. "Catch me if you can Takeshi!"

"I plan to!" The sunlight brought out the streaks of russet in the older boy's hair when he reached the stream. One quick scan of the water and then the boy was scaling the nearest tree like his heritage included part-squirrel. "I"m going to dunk you in the water when I get you!"

"Promises, promises," Hikari sang. She quickened her pace though, bounding past the boulder at the top of the hill and turning a sharp left. In her hand was the flickering image of orange cloth.

Takeshi was older, faster, and had more stamina than her, so it really must have galled that she kept out of his reach for another almost ten minutes. All good things must come to an end though.

"Ow!" That tree definitely was there a second ago.

"Not so much fun when it's on the other foot now, is it?" Takeshi looked smug as he leapt down from the trees and snatched her flag. "I have- huh?"

The orange cloth faded away. An empty Kit-Kat wrapper remained. Hikari's gut finally unclenched.

"Where...?" Her cousin's voice drew off, "You got someone else to do it?"

"Ten points for the little genius," she smirked, sitting up and rubbing her nose. It didn't _feel_ broken. "Too late to do anything now. Take a seat with me."

He sat down. She rubbed a dirty leaf on his cheek. Her nose _hurt._

A few minutes later, a little cyclops in a pink dress and a haughty white fox reached them. Hikari gladly handed over another two grape candies.

" _Hikari wins,"_ Tenshi announced, glaring at his student, " _To my great shame and humiliation._ "

" _But she cheated,_ " her cousin protested.

Tenshi gave him another _look_. " _I know. At least one of you has shown some common sense."_

" _Technically, this isn't against the rules,"_ Hikari reminded him smugly, " _Takeshi, I want you to meet my new deputy, Tomo._ "

The toddler cyclops shyly waved and sucked on her candy. " _Hewo, Tak'shi."_

" _Your deputy?_ " Takeshi repeated dryly, " _You made a hitotsume-kozo to do your dirty work?"_

" _I didn't make her do anything,_ " she denied, " _I offered an incentive for employment and she agreed."_

" _So, like you, her loyalty can be bought with candy,"_ her cousin snickered, " _I- hey wait, are those from my stash?"_

Rather than respond, the dark-haired Daughter of Apollo jumped to her feet and started running again. Not her fault Takeshi had the best candy.

x


	6. My Flower Beds Have Monster Glitter

(Kansai International Airport, Osaka, Japan)

"I love you, Takeshi."

"H-Hikari!"

"I _love you,_ Takeshi."

"Hikari, please, people are looking at us…"

" _I love you, Takeshi."_

The golden-eyed boy turned to his parents in dismay. Uncle Hiroshi turned his face to hide his smile.

A soft, resigned sigh left his mouth. Her cousin returned her embrace.

"I love you too, Kari-chan."

She triumphantly released him from the embarrassment of being hugged by his younger cousin in public, blinking once or twice to ensure that any tears wouldn't fall. The two months that she had spent in Japan were incredible. Biweekly visits to an underwater imperial library, illusion lessons from a haughty white kitsune, showing off her archery skills to the extended family, and bribing local yokai with stolen candy had made this a brilliant visit. The highlight of it all though was her favorite cousin and she was going to miss him terribly.

"You're going to call me often right?" Takeshi asked, patting her head, "I want to know how your _genealogy project_ works out."

"Of course," she promised. Even if she had to visit every phone booth in the city, she would make those calls.

A few more goodbyes later and the Kurosawa family was forced to enter their gate. Hikari turned one last time and saw Takeshi's purely mischievous smirk that somehow managed to reassure her. Her response was a radiant smile. Even if it felt like the entire world was plotting against her sometimes, at least she knew that there would always be someone across the ocean rooting for her.

x

(Hikari's Room, Greenwich, Connecticut)

Over the next year, Hikari threw herself into her lessons. She practiced archery until her fingers bled, waited until they healed into calloused palms, and practiced even more. Her draw with a bow was lightning quick (let it not be said that Hikari Kurosawa hesitated in protecting herself), her aim perfect for still targets within 20 meters, and slightly less for moving ones. When she wasn't practicing archery, her nose was buried in some book or the other about Greek or Roman mythology. She had even purchased a copy of the _Odyssey_ in its original Ancient Greek to test if the language was hardwired into her brain. Apparently it was, and her grandfather had been very impressed when he found her casually flipping through the book the next day.

There was, of course, the matter of her photokinesis. Through trial and error, Hikari found a few limitations to the illusions that she could form. The biggest one, so far, was that they only affected the sight and could be disrupted by even minor electrical currents. She had to be within 10 meters and have a direct line of sight with something to cast an illusion on it but could also apply illusions to anything she had touched. More complex illusions, greater distances from the object, and holding multiple illusions all increased the power drain. The good news was that most of this could be counteracted through practice, practice, and more practice.

And cheating. Putting something in direct sunlight and casting an illusion drastically cut power costs.

Hikari hadn't gone so far as to cast an illusion on herself but she did make a habit of picking up rocks throughout her day, making them look like brightly-coloured gemstones, and pocketing them until either her pocket was full or her exhaustion was too high. By her sixth birthday, she could hold three sapphires, two rubies, and four garnets in place for over an hour.

It was time. She was ready.

"Hikari Kurosawa, I want that light off! You have school tomorrow, young lady!"

She was not ready. She still jumped whenever her grandfather raised his voice for Apollo's sake. She was so, _so_ not ready for monster hunting.

' _You need celestial bronze for your traps though,'_ the more daring part of her mind that strangely sounded like her golden-eyed cousin argued, ' _None of your practice matters unless you can tip your arrows with a substance that actually kills those beasts.'_

' _Meaning that I have no method of actually killing them,'_ her common sense, aka survivor's instinct, pointed out.

' _The monsters could carry some weapons with them.'_

' _From the demigods they ate? No, thank you. I don't want to fight a monster that ate another kid.'_

' _There's no reward without risk.'_

' _Then I don't want the reward.'_

' _Scope it out beforehand and if you think you can fight them, enter.'_

She took a deep breath and considered the words. Then she reminded herself that having mental conversations with oneself was weird. ' _I can work with that…'_

x

(Alleyway, Greenwich, Connecticut)

Her shirt had to be sacrificed to the cause.

Thankfully it was a pink, frilly, gauzy thing that Hikari had never liked anyway, so she could freely shred it up and stuff it into the nicks and crannies of the alleyway. The dark-haired girl had worn into bed every night for two weeks and hadn't washed it since so it should stink of pint-sized demigod. With any luck, that scent would cover the half bottle full of perfume she had currently drenched herself in. To further tip the scales in her favor, every inch of her skin baring hands and face was covered in heavy cloth, she was crouching on the rooftop of the store, and the alleyway was stocked with half a dozen of her cousin's best traps.

Overkill. Hikari Kurosawa did not believe in it.

She had spent the last week in this position, mostly drawing elaborate and impractical traps that she could equip in her evil lair (on the off chance that, you know, this hero business didn't work out). The dark-haired girl was working on one when she heard footsteps turn towards the alleyway. Grabbing her bow with one hand, she readied herself to cast another illusion of a barking dog in case it was another stray mortal.

' _Mortals don't have scales._ ' Hikari gulped when she saw the thin, green etches all over the tiny woman's skin. She looked like a common waitress, with short black hair and dusky brown skin, as she looked around the alley. One delicate hand picked up a piece of fabric and then the woman sniffed the air. The Daughter of Apollo stood stock still.

' _Let's have a little distraction.'_ Jerking her fingers in the air as though she was playing an instrument, Hikari crafted the image of a calico in her mind. She withdrew one of the pebbles in her pocket and tossed it to the other end of the alley, The sound drew the attention of the snake-woman and her eyes fell on the calico peeking out of the trash. Then, in a most disturbing manner, she licked her lips.

' _She thinks it's food…_ ' The calico jumped out of the trash and tried to move away. Hikari bit her tongue when the woman jerked forward, lighting fast, and almost grabbed the illusion. There was a moment of hesitation- was the lack of sound alerting her of danger? Hikari's fingers flicked again and the calico ran forward past the wall of crates.

The monster followed. A thin string broke. The crates crashed down.

' _I need to throw the net!'_ Hikari jumped up, her heart beating incredibly quickly, as she tossed down a makeshift net of ropes and weighted stones. Then she readied her bow and waited for a response.

"Demigod!" The monster howled. The woman's body was lying there, folded awkwardly under the boxes, as though a leg had snapped. "Where are you, demigod? I can smell your scent! It will feed my sisters well!"

Hikari notched an arrow and pointed it directly to the woman. She didn't bother to respond as she released it. The sharp wood flew true and pierced the monster's neck. It didn't dig deeply into the skin but on a human, that would have been a kill shot. Maybe it shouldn't have surprised her. Artemis was the Goddess of the Hunt, of arrows that would wound as easily as they would kill. But her immortal father's arrows were infamous for only hitting true; if Apollo released an arrow, it was meant to kill.

The dark-haired girl's stomach clenched. The woman's body _rippled_ and more and more scales started to pattern out. It unclenched and she notched another arrow. A second, third, and fourth pinned her arms down. Fifth and sixth to her clothes, a seventh to the one leg in her sight. Each of them broke through the skin but drew no blood, and this reminded her that whatever the appearance may be, these were not humans. They were monsters. They would reform. They would hurt people.

They would get to her family unless she got to them first.

Then Hikari's fingers danced erratically and in her most daring attempt at illusion yet, she plunged the alleyway into darkness.

' _So my illusions can fool me after all,_ ' she considered, feeling her energy drain rapidly from her body. She flicked her fingers and shadow became smoke, that then condensed into a small cloud under the snake's face. ' _That's better.'_

"Who are you, demigod? Show yourself! Are you too scared to face the noble cerastes, _coward_?!"

' _Never heard of her before,'_ she felt relieved, ' _Good. Baby monsters I can handle.'_

Hikari inched closer and eyed her clothing for any glint of metal. None made itself apparent, so she grimaced and prodded the trapped monster. It recoiled from her touch and tried to bite her, the ropes bending tautly against its head. Something sharp pricked at her finger and she withdrew it.

"Where are your sisters?" Hikari inquired politely.

"As if I would answer to you or your blasted Pantheon!"

"Suit yourself." She withdrew a disposable camera and took a few quick shots. Chances are her sisters would like her and if not, Takeshi might appreciate the results of her first hunt. It was kind of neat to share this aspect of her secret life with somebody who would understand. "You're going to die now."

"I will come back and I will find you. I will kill you."

"Don't worry. You won't be alone for long. I'll send your sisters over soon."

The monster howled as the celestial bronze dagger pierced her skin. As she crumbled down into dust, she left a pale yet resolute Daughter of Apollo. Hikari stared at the spot where the monster had been for a good few minutes before staggering to her feet. Her limbs felt like she had just run a marathon. Her stomach felt sick and her heart was just coming down from the adrenaline rush.

' _One threat down and no idea how many more to go,'_ she considered grimly, ' _But at least I have an actual weapon now.'_

And a means to melt it down for her arrows too. It was rather considerate of the cerastes to carry her tips around in that apron of hers.

' _Now if I'm quick, I can get these pictures printed before the library closes for the day.'_ Hikari quietly hummed to herself as she efficiently cleaned up her traps. Her first hunt had gone well.

x

(Kurosawa Residence, Greenwich, Connecticut)

After two weeks of research, Hikari sent a inquiry by letter to Frank Zhang's grandmother. The letter basically stated that she was another demigod (neatly sidestepping the Greek and Roman issue) and asked if she could correspond with Frank by letter (since his family was from a long line of demigods). She received back a polite letter back from Emily Zhang saying that she hadn't told her son that he was a demigod yet and didn't plan to do so for many more years. She thanked her for taking the time to do this though and included some delicious maple candy, which Hikari thought was a nice gesture.

Another envelope was sent to Tristan McLean with a letter for Piper McLean inside, asking her if she would like a fellow pen pal that could 'also see weird things sometimes'. She never received a reply and assumed that Piper had merely decided not to respond to the vague message. In truth, Tristan McLean's assistant, Jane, tossed it into the trash upon seeing the girl's name and Piper never got the letter. In either case, there was nothing to come out of either situation.

Nearly six months in and Hikari hadn't found a single connection to Leo Valdez to work from. She resolved to continue searching but perhaps less dedicatedly than before. There were surprisingly a lot of mechanics named Valdez in Texas.

"This seemed so much less complicated in my head," Hikari sighed, tossing the phonebook away. Tiny print, unfamiliar names, and an obnoxiously large special order shipping fee, it was athema to all good and proper demigods. "Stupid dyslexia."

She sat up and faced the mirror. An almost full reflection of her body studied her back and her fingers started to twitch. Beside her, a deformed, wavering twin image formed, held for a few seconds, and then faded away. She twitched her fingers again; the dark hair matched and the aquiline nose did not. Again, and the pale curvature of her collarbones faded into the background. Again and again.

Hikari felt like a bit of a narcissist for staring at the mirror so long but she was determined to pull this off. After all, _Double Team_ had been an excellent _Pokemon_ move.

x

(Grand Central Terminal, New York, New York)

"Bye Sally! Give those to Percy and tell him I said 'hi'," Hikari waved her arm cheerfully, as she stepped out the door with her candy. Her mouth fell into a pout as soon as she crossed the threshold, which was a problem that could only be rectified by these delicious sea salt chocolates.

' _I wonder if Percy likes these as much as me,'_ she idly wondered, munching on the sweets. At eight years old, Hikari was finally allowed to buy the candy herself whenever she rode the subway to 'pick up' her mom from the office. Chihiro had gained a good position in the city as a family attorney and, since some more intensive cases caused her to stay in Manhattan overnight, rented a flat there.

This had led to a new cause for Hikari to champion: going to school in the city.

Grandfather was going to give in any day now, she knew. The problem for the dark-haired girl was that she didn't know which school to advocate for because Sally Jackson was so tight lipped about her son (which was commendable from a security standpoint but still irritating). Even if Mrs. Jackson _did_ like Hikari (and how could she not? Her child persona was so adorable and charming), she wouldn't let another demigod get close to Percy and possibly increase the danger he was in.

A logical concern but one that Hikari felt was unwarranted. Yes, her scent would draw more attention to the two but Percy might be better off in the long run with her protection. She had killed almost a dozen minor monsters so far, including four cerastes, and robbed almost all of them. (One had chased her down the street, fell into a manhole, and died in the sewer. At that point, Hikari decided that she didn't need to corpse rob that one time.) A quarter had carried celestial bronze weapons with them and two imperial gold, likely meant to be trophies of their demigod kills. Most were mythological animals but of the humanoid figures she killed, some money was found.

Hikari had originally been conflicted about robbing them before reminding herself that they would have eaten her otherwise and bulk Pop Tarts did not come cheap.

Casting illusions on the celestial bronze to make it seem like common copper and then having it melted down was easy. Convincing her Grandfather that she needed copper-tipped bows because 'they're a symbol of luck and good fortune to ward off evil spirits, and can I have them Grandfather, _please_ ' less so. Arrows tipped of celestial bronze made a far more handy weapon and Hikari hadn't even needed illusions for her last two kills.

As for the imperial gold, she had buried them deep in her closet. You never knew when Roman weapons would come in handy.

Incidentally, Hikari had also found a use for the monster's remains. She gathered the golden dust into tupperware containers and started sprinkling them in the flower beds. Then she poured it into holes on the floor and into the living room vases. When her Grandfather hired some men to repaint the shed she tossed an entire pouch there (and got scolded for ruining the fresh paint with 'glitter').

Chihiro thought she was going through a sparkle phase. Satoru thought she was acting out to study in the city. Takeshi congratulated her on turning her house into a perfume-infused quasi-monster den.

' _Marking the house as a monster's territory was one of my better ideas,'_ Hikari considered _, 'I wonder if I can do the same for the Jacksons. It should hide Percy's scent as effectively as an abusive stepdad.'_

The perverted white kitsune that had taught her the art of illusions had also drilled into her head how important it was to be aware of her surroundings. Since her combat ability revolved just as much around being a trickster as an archer, Hikari knew that she needed to pay attention to details. That was why an idle flash of movement caught her eye.

' _Princess curls!_ ' A little girl with dirty blonde hair was hurrying forward, head ducked down and thin arms covered in scratch marks. ' _No freaking way.'_

Hikari's eyes tracked her direction and then flit forward. An older girl with unruly black hair beside a teenaged boy with sandy blonde hair. She stopped. She literally stopped and gaped at the trio.

A punk princess, a rebellious thief, and a pint-sized genius were standing in front of a shop while the eldest of the trio checked his wallet, presumably for money. The dark-haired Daughter of Apollo kept her eyes securely locked on them as she headed closer. She was two feet away when Luke sadly shook his head and Thalia looked up.

' _Damn. Now I know what they mean by electric green eyes._ ' They were so bright that they could have sparked when they settled on her. Thalia shifted her body and one hand drifted towards her pocket.

"I'll buy you lunch," she offered. The entire group was looking at her now and they all stiffened.

"Who the hell are you, Princess?" Thalia asked bluntly, eyeing the well-fitted pastel shirt warily. Apparently her mother's preferred taste of J. Crew Catalogue didn't meat with her approval.

"Hikari Kurosawa and I'm like you guys." Holding her left hand up, she slowly eased her backpack to the ground. The bow and arrows were only used on missions but a small knife was always on hand. "Check by bag and you'll find a celestial bronze knife. Other than that, I'm unarmed."

"You're a demigod too?" Annabeth's eyes brightened, "Are you running away?"

"Nah, street life isn't for me," Hikari tried not to grin. The little blonde was so _cute_. Hard to imagine she would grow up to be a hero twice over and one of the coolest demigods in existence. "Blonde hair, grey eyes, and I bet you're really smart too. Wisdom's kid?"

"It doesn't matter," Luke said before the girl could reply. He dragged her behind him. "What do you want?"

"I want to offer my help," Hikari stated, as sincerely as possible. "My home's just a train ride away and you can crash there for a few days, if you like. I can lend you some money and I have TV and some books in Ancient Greek to pass the time."

"Why would you want to help us?" It was sad to see how distrustful street life had made the boy.

"People like us… we need to look out for each other," Hikari answered. "No one else will."

His eyes flashed and she knew that point had struck home. Thalia had finished checked her bag then.

"Look, I appreciate what you're trying to do, but bringing us home will be dangerous for you," Thalia hesitated, "Having more of us around attracts more monsters."

Hikari shrugged. "I know. Mind if I douse you with perfume before I invite you home?"

"...What?" Thalia and Luke stared at her blankly.

Annabeth's head popped out from Luke's side. "Ooh, you use perfume to hide the scent?"

Attractive _and_ smart; no wonder Percy fell in love with her.

Understanding dawned on the older two. "You know, she's right. That does sound like a good idea."

"I try," Hikari grinned, "Now, how about a meal and some shelter?"

Luke wavered. "I don't think your parent will be happy if you drag three street kids home."

"And that's why they're never going to find out. You'll be staying at the guest house." The smaller building was primarily used to house distant relatives for family reunions or her grandfather's business friends but none of them planned to visit any time soon, so it should be empty.

"...You have a _guest house_?" Thalia shook her head, "Jeez, you really are a princess."

Personally, Hikari felt this was unfair because Annabeth's family had also been old money but it was unlikely Thalia knew _that_. Nonetheless she managed a few more reassurances that this wouldn't harm her at all, before the three runaways agreed to follow. She made a quick call to her mom about going straight home, manufacturing a deep need to read her latest manga purchase, while trying to ignore the questioning eyes of the other three demigods.

"So… you and your mom get along well then?" Thalia asked, an indescribable emotion present in her tone. "Doesn't she resent you for all of the monster attacks?"

"She doesn't know I'm a demigod," Hikari responded, her voice a little more frosty. Of course, none of the three had close, positive relationships with their mortal parents (or, with the exception of Annabeth, their immortal ones), and that made her wonder. How would Chihiro and Satoru react when they found out the news.

"But you have celestial bronze weapons, so you must have met one at some point."

"I killed the monster and never told my family. My town is pretty safe as far as monsters go. There were only a few low-level ones and I do regular sweeps to make sure that it stays clear."

Annabeth broke in with a question there about whether or not she did regular patrols and the conversation moved away from her mortal family and towards her fighting style. While keeping her illusions secret, Hikari freely shared details about her talent for archery and traps, while snickering inside as the others tried to figure out her godly parent. Apparently, despite having so many hallmarks that likened her to children of Apollo, the black hair was a major stumbling to that revelation.

The Daughter of Athena finally cracked it by matter-of-factly informing her that she should look into medicine too. Hikari merely patted her on the head (which earned her a scowl) and offered her more chocolate (which got a happy smile). Honestly though, eight year old Annabeth Chase was so cute!

When they got off at the right station, one of the riders who lived on her street, a lawyer named Mr. Preston, looked at the odd party quizzically. There was Hikari, who looked like the average upper middle suburban teen, followed by three very good-looking vagrant children.

(Which led Hikari to wonder if all demigods were attractive or the ones she met were just lucky).

"I'm working on a charity project tutoring inner city kids for school," she informed him primly, ignoring the growl (Thalia), snort (Luke), and giggle (Annabeth) behind her. "Have a nice day, sir."

x


	7. I Get Accused of Organ Smuggling

(Greenleaf Library, Greenwich, Connecticut)

"Thank you for your work today, Ms. Kurosawa," the team leader, one of the local high school seniors said, checking his clipboard, "You've completed your hours for the week. Would you like to leave?"

"I can take on one more student, sir," Hikari replied. "Can I have it credited for next week?"

She received an assent and then settled into her usual desk, waiting for the next student to be sent to her. James Lincoln Elementary prided itself on producing citizen-students, whatever that meant, and mandated a certain amount of volunteer service each year. She had signed up to tutor underprivileged students and used that to explain the demigod runaways that she had met last month to her neighbor.

Fortunately it was a misdirection that had only been needed once. The dark-haired girl had been able to sneak Luke, Thalia, and Annabeth into the guest house without being seen and back out again after two nights rest. The house was covered by a line of trees and the utilities were in working order, so all Hikari had to do was buy groceries and pick up pizza on the way home from school. The three had been appreciative of her help, especially Annabeth when Hikari insisted that she take a few Ancient Greek books with her. She had seen them off on the third day, loaded with a few hundred dollars in cash, additional clothes (the look on Luke's face when her mom's t-shirt had fit him _perfectly…_ ), a printed map of the east coast, and lots of bandages.

Merely knowing that she had helped the three was enough, but Hikari couldn't say that the flask of ambrosia (that Thalia swore was from a magical goat) and the additional dagger that they gave her in return wasn't nice.

While she didn't get to spend much time with the three (Satoru Kurosawa would hardly excuse lessons without a good reason), Hikari _did_ like them. Annabeth and Thalia were simple enough to explain. The younger girl was earnest, brave, and quite clever, on top of being ridiculously cute with her princess curls and wide grey eyes. She could also see the hints of the badass hero she would become; the ambition to make her mark on the world and the empathy that would form that mark. In many ways, the Daughter of Athena reminded her of Takeshi, so Hikari couldn't resist hugging her (four times). Annabeth had tolerated those hugs with all the grace of a child knowing that she would receive chocolate afterwards.

Thalia, in comparision, was an insecure bundle of sass and anger that loved her makeshift little family to the point of abandon. She was twelve years old but had the movements of a seasoned fighter, the jaded personality of a single mom, and the snarky attitude of a delinquent. Despite disapproval over Hikari's cookie-cutter appearance and lifestyle ("Is that a _cardigan_ Kurosawa?!"), she had complimented her archery skills and offered to go on patrol with her. Hikari was also surprised by how considerate she could be, quietly informing her that she was 'one of the more powerful demigods' before reiterating that Hikari didn't have to give them shelter.

The eldest one was more difficult to explain. Even though Hikari knew that he was essentially the Anakin Skywalker of this story, the fourteen-year-old boy she had met was friendly and easygoing. Luke had understandable reservations about the Olympians and a genuine desire to make life easier for other demigods, to which she sympathized. The problem was that he was inherently a rebel and his solution was to tear down the Pantheon, without having a clear idea of how to replace it. In comparison, Hikari wanted to work within the existing system to gradually change the status quo. The dark-haired girl had no idea if her attempts would result in lasting change but his, she knew, were doomed to failure.

Luke Castellan was the human embodiment of the road to hell being paved with good intentions. Hikari mourned for all of the talent and courage that Kronos would distort beyond recognition.

She would have considered the tragic fate of the boy for a little longer but for the sound of footsteps approaching her. "Hello…"

"Hey there, sunshine," the blonde boy with the startlingly blue eyes said cheerily, pulling the chair out and carelessly plopping down, "Close your mouth now. We don't have a lot of time."

Hikari could barely hear the words, her rapid heartbeat matching the speed that her eyes darted over the casually dressed preteen. She had known that she would meet the God eventually but hadn't expected him to just stroll into her mortal life without any forewarning. There was the sky blue eyes of course, but the aquiline nose and something similar about the cheekbones. ' _This is… my father…'_

' _My father the Greek God,_ ' she reminded herself, ducking her head down in respect, "Lord Apollo."

"Aren't you the respectful one?" the boy mused, his lips pulling up into a smirk when she looked up, "I guess that crosses 'firecracker' off the list. How do you feel about 'sunflower'?"

"You're right, that's too trite," her father agreed, while she just stared at him in bemusement. "Skyfall sounds too much like a spy name and 'dawn' seems too gentle for a daughter that mastered two of my combat abilities. Kudos for that by the way. You're the first kid in decades to even _consider_ my photokinetic abilities."

"Ah, t-thanks," she stuttered. Odd as the situation was, this was the first compliment Hikari had received from her second biological parent. "Lord Apollo, are you trying to find a nickname for me?"

"Not that I've had any luck so far, but yes," he replied, "Now let's cut out this lord stuff. Don't get me wrong. I like mortals that show proper respect as much as any other Olympian, but you _are_ my kid and this _is_ in private. Pull off the routine for the others though; none of my kids have been voted best mannered yet."

"What would you like me to call you?" Hikari questioned, ' _Because Dad would be just too weird…'_

"Fred is fine for now," the Sun God answered, stapling his fingers together and regarding her thoughtfully, "I wanted to speak to you earlier but Hera's on the warpath since Dad revealed his second bastard in this decade. I thought it would be better for everyone to settle down before I slipped under the Ancient Laws."

"Er… should you be telling me this?" ' _Did he know about the reincarnation?'_

"I can tell from the look on your face that I'm not revealing anything you don't already know," Apollo's smirk grew when she recoiled, "Hey, hey, it's fine. I'm the only one who knows about the r-thing."

Hikari's eyes widened. "Did you bring me here?"

"Not exactly. Gods can't interfere much beyond their own domains. You were hidden from my sight in a past life, so you were either outside of the western influence- which is impossible, since I _know_ you have some prior knowledge about circumstances here- or you're from another world. The old ladies implied that it was the second one when I pressed them."

"The old ladies?" Anticipation and hesitance were filling her in equal turns. She could finally get some answers about one of the mysteries that had been bothering her since her life as Hikari Kurosawa began, but she wasn't sure if those were answers that she wanted to know.

"The Fates brought you here as a favor to me," Apollo clarified, "Do you know about Octavian?"

"Your Roman son?" If he had brought her here, then he had some need of her. She would have to bet on that and any possible fatherly affection to live past the next two wars.

"You _do_ know a lot." Those blue eyes gleamed approvingly and she recalled that her father was also considered a deity of knowledge. "Your half-brother promised to make me great if I granted him the gift of prophecy. I foolishly acceded to this request and have now realized what a mistake that was. He's going to be a disaster for me, I just know it."

"Do you want me to stop him?" If so, that could get difficult. She hadn't read past _Son of Neptune_ yet.

"No. Octavian's plans will succeed and however many other Olympians may be involved in his failure, I will be the one to bear blame. I want _you_ to mitigate that," Apollo stated grimly, "Become a hero. Become great enough to shoulder your brother's dishonor and bring attention to my children's deeds. I invested a lot of favors into bringing a counterweight to Octavian in the game."

"I see." Hikari tried to make her voice steady. Even if she did have the maturity of a near-adult and no strong attachment to this god, it still hurt to have your father refer to you as an _investment_. "Do you have any specific tasks for me?"

"You will enroll yourself into this school but not until your tenth birthday has passed," Apollo instructed, passing her a school brochure and ignoring the hitch in her tone, "Uncle Poseidon's brat will be there then and I want you to ally with him. Other than my half-sister, he's the only other known candidate for the prophecy."

' _So he's going to side with Poseidon when the Olympians debate about killing his son,_ ' Hikari deduced. "You don't want me to ally with Thalia Grace?"

Thalia Grace, Daughter of Zeus and currently the most-likely candidate for the prophecy, was also a good display of her foreknowledge. There was another gleam of approval and Hikari tried not to feel too pathetic when she received a surge of happiness from that. This was a business arrangement. Her reincarnation for his recognition.

"Thalia's a better candidate but Hermes and Athena have already signalled their support for her," Apollo explained, "Adding one more demigod won't garner much influence, especially because Dad tries to take as much of the credit for his demigods works as possible. Uncle Poseidon doesn't."

"Lord Poseidon is also in a weaker position since his son is untrained and the Olympian Council is filled with his brother's children," she observed, "You would get more credit for supporting Percy early on _before_ he proved himself a capable hero."

"Yes, but there's already some proof involved, isn't there?" Apollo chuckled at her confused face, "Just because we haven't talked yet, doesn't mean I don't keep a close eye on my kids. You're trying to get in touch with a few demigods now and I think they would make good bets later on."

' _Of course he would keep an eye on his investment…_ ' "Is there anything else?"

"Three matters. First, I want you to be more careful about how you refer to us. Gods and monsters are immediately aware of when their names are spoken and even if most don't bother to pay attention to who's doing it, there's always the minor risk that you need to train yourself out of. It doesn't matter now because I put a barrier up before we spoke but keep that in mind."

' _I can't believe I forgot about that!'_ Hikari nodded, blushing in embarrassment.

"Second, I don't want you to study healing," he raised a hand to forestall her protest, "I know that a lot of my other children are famous for it, but when they choose that route, they forsake another. I am the god of plagues and illnesses too and I think that ability will be more useful to you later on."

' _He wants me to command plagues?!'_ Visions of accidentally releasing another Black Death made her gulp and nod hesitantly. Then again, that power could come in _very_ handy during the war…

"Finally, I want to know how you feel." She blinked at him. He grinned back at her.

"I feel fine." The perfectly neutral answer caused the Sun God to shake his head.

"Are you though? You've been reincarnated into another world and have all of these tasks thrust on you. Your only support so far has been your cousin," the god questioned gently. "I tried to find you a good family…"

"You have," she said quickly, "They're great. Don't worry. I'll do my best to bring you honor."

The boy with the eerily bright eyes regarded her warily and then stared up at the ceiling. "I'm not very good at this, I know. None of us are, even after centuries of existence, because we're not allowed to gain any _experience._ Normally I'd pull my happy surfer persona but I don't think that'll work for you."

"..."

His head lifted back up and he stared at her with a wistful gaze. "Mortals that outlive their children claim that it's the worst feeling in the world. They should try losing hundreds of them. Each one hurts just that little bit less, but that's because each one receives that little less attention."

Apparently not waiting for a response, he continued. "Gods aren't immune to loving their children. If anything, they can sometimes care _too_ much. Trust me, I'm the God of Prophecy, and while your divine blood hides the particulars of your destinies from me, I do have some sense of how important you can be and what you may do. I knew that Octavian's heart was too ambitious, too easy to sway and I granted him that power anyway. Because isn't that what a father's supposed to do? Equip his son with the tools and hope that he'll become a good man? Let his children make their mistakes?"

"And if that mistake leads to people dying?" Hikari asked bluntly.

A sad smile crossed the man's face. "You can't fight Fate, child. You can change details, save one life at the expense of another, but the salient points of every story they weave will come to pass. If not Octavian, then another child… but granting power to survive to my own and hoping that he'll follow his better nature? That's the best that an Olympian parent _can_ do, within the Ancient Laws."

"Oh." There was too much regret on that face to not be real. Unsure, she reached out her hand and tentatively patted his. "Thank you for coming here."

"Don't ever think that I don't care," Apollo told her, "Every time you use your powers, every time you step into the sunlight, you have my attention. I'm always watching you."

He paused and then grimaced. "That sounded much less creepy in my head."

"I think I understand what you mean," Hikari answered through her laughter, "Thanks."

"For the love of the gods, I hope so," the blonde boy shuddered, "Look, you're my kid and I love you. If you ever need my help, pray to me and I'll answer. Practice your archery and illusions but don't forget to relax sometimes. What am I missing? Oh yeah, listen to your mom and always check under the bed for monsters."

"Sage advice that I'll do my best to follow," the dark-haired girl promised, smiling.

"And I want to see more of those cute smiles too," Apollo teased, reaching out a hand to ruffle her hair. His fingers felt warm against her forehead. "You know, I think I reached a nickname for you. You'll be my little dewdrop!"

"Dewdrop?" Hikari snorted, "How is that associated with the sun?"

"I'm sure you'll find the connection," he waved the matter off and stood up, "My time is running out. Goodbye Daughter."

"Yeah," she murmured, feeling strangely sad to see him go, "Bye… Dad."

x

(Monroe Middle, New York, New York)

For the next almost two years, Hikari practiced her archery until she could hit moving targets within 30 meters of her with ease. She practiced her illusions until she could make herself look like anyone she wanted and (to some extent) refracted rays of light until parts of her body appeared spotty. She did more research on Greek mythology, accumulated almost three thousand dollars from different monsters, updated the traps around her home, and visited Takeshi for another summer trip (he had apparently taken Tomo on as his assistant). She also studied the various pathogens and plagues that existed throughout history though she didn't try her hand at creating any. Mostly because she didn't know how, but partly because _Black Death._ Hikari researched her new nickname too.

The connection turned out to be Aurora, a little-known Roman goddess of the dawn, who flew across the sky announcing the arrival of the sun. Her brother was Sol (the sun), her sister Luna (the moon), and both siblings appeared to be versions of Apollo and Artemis. The merry dancers of the north, or _Aurora Borealis_ , was named after her and dew was supposedly created from her teardrops.

Hikari had spent a good week scouring the library before she could find all of this and understand her nickname. At the end, she had a bit of an internal struggle before deciding that being likened to teardrops wasn't too bad when Aurora was known as the herald of the sun. Besides, it sounded pretty.

The day after she figured it out, Hikari woke up to something cold sliding down her cheek. When she had sat up to get a closer look, she found an unfamiliar necklace on her blanket. A thin gold chain with a teardrop-shaped diamond hanging from it. She raised it up to the light and was utterly entranced when it appeared as though shimmering lights were dancing in the stone. Red, blue, green, yellow and violet lights danced merrily as she shifted the gem.

"Brilliant," Hikari whispered, immediately putting the necklace on. Her first ever gift from her Dad!

She wondered if the necklace possessed any magical powers but if it did, it wasn't revealing anything to her now. Still the cool touch of the diamond against her throat felt comforting and the illusion she cast on it to the hide the necklace felt almost effortless. Hikari certainly wouldn't be taking it off.

Hikari reached out a hand to touch it now, under the guise of adjusting the collar of her new blazer, as she awkwardly smiled at the class. Chihiro Kurosawa hadn't been particularly enthused about her switching to New York private school in October, but the relative closeness to her mother's office (it was only six train stops away) and Hikari pulling another closet stunt convinced her. It seemed that her Dad may have meddled too because her class had a dark-haired boy with the prettiest eyes she had ever seen.

Introduction first though. "Hello. My name is Hikari Kurosawa. I'm from Connecticut."

After answering some basic questions at the urging of one sadistic homeroom teacher- "Closer to my Mom's work", "No", "My favorite subject is English", "I don't play"- she was allowed to sit down. Fortunately, Percy Jackson had already earned the moniker of the weird troublemaker, so the seat next to him was empty. As Mr. Walson started off the lesson, she began to halfheartedly take notes and more dedicatedly sneak peeks.

' _I can't believe I don't have eyelashes like that,_ ' she bemoaned inwardly. For an almost ten-year-old boy, Percy Jackson was rather good-looking. He hadn't hit his growth spurt yet (though he was _still_ taller than her) but he had that healthy, Mediterranean glow to his skin and symmetrical, Grecian features. Not to mention eyes that did remind her of the ocean under a perfectly sunny day.

He was just as adorable as Annabeth but also less… harsh. Annabeth had been a scrappy runaway with fighting experience and sharp grey eyes that would strip you down to the bone and then mentally reassemble you in her head, with every weakness catalogued for future reference. Percy Jackson had soft hands, an open posture, and a look of curiosity on his face as he stared at her.

Also, he was staring at her. Hikari looked up to meet his eyes and the Son of Poseidon immediately averted his gaze, blushing.

She was internally fangirling over the cuteness of it all when a note hit her desk. She discreetly opened it to find the absolute worst scrawl she had ever seen. _Why are you staring at me?_

She tossed it back. _You have pretty eyes._

The boy's face reddened even more. _Stop being weird._

Hikari bit her tongue. She would not squeal over this. _Can't. It's a genetic disorder beyond my control. Do you like chocolate?_

His lips twitched up. _Everyone likes chocolate._

_My favorites are Sea Salt Almonds. Every week I buy some at a shop called Sweet on America._

He (slowly) read the note. He paused. He looked confused. He stopped writing.

' _Well that could have gone better_ ,' Hikari mused, as the future hero of the world proceeded to ignore her for the rest of the lesson. She must have really creeped him out if he would pretend to be interested in the Carter Administration.

x

(Monroe Middle, New York, New York)

Percy looked to the left, then to the right, and then tried to cross the hall as quickly as possible when he didn't see the new girl. Technically, it had been two weeks already and Hikari Kurosawa had shed the new girl title to the label of smart, aloof, and sort-of popular rich kid. 'Sort-of popular' because she kept politely rejecting any offers to hang out and mostly ignored her classmates. 'Mostly ignored' because Percy was pretty sure that she was stalking him.

It wasn't too hard for her either. They shared six out of eight classes _and_ lunch _and_ homeroom, and their lockers were on the same hallway. Percy knew that because Hikari Kurosawa also took every opportunity available to try to talk to him.

"Percy!" Like clockwork, the bell rang, classes let out, and the pretty Asian girl with the uncommonly blue eyes popped up at his shoulder. She had pulled her long black hair up into a high ponytail today. "I was planning to study at the library today. Would you like to come with me?"

This request had become so routine that the kids walking past them didn't even bother to wonder why the princess kept pestering the pauper.

"I'm busy," the boy tried to recall an excuse he hadn't used yet. "My… step-dad needs me to wash his car." He tried not to gag over giving Smelly Gabe any familial label at all.

She pouted. It would be kind of cute if she wasn't also a stalker. "You're _always_ busy when I invite you to something."

"I know. That's what's called a hint."

"I didn't think that note would freak you out so much," she tapped the hollow of her throat, which Percy recognized as a common behavior when she was nervous. Admittedly, he probably watched her as much as she watched him, but in his case, it was different. He did it for self-preservation.

"You named my favorite chocolate from the shop where my m- where I get mine," he informed her.

"Oh, I already know Mrs. Jackson is your mom," Hikari waved off, making him pale.

"You're _stalking_ me?" The boy moved his backpack over the front of his body. It was defense.

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm not-" Percy tried not to hyperventilate when she paused. "Okay, I think we need to talk about something. Please come with me?"

"No way." He eyed her small hands with the sky blue nail polish warily. "I know stranger danger."

"I'm not a stranger," she protested, "You know my name is Hikari Kurosawa. I'm your classmate!"

"How do I know that's your real name?" At her look of disbelief, he elaborated.

"I know how these things work. You're going to use candy to bring me to a secluded alley, where someone will knock me out, take me to a white van, and harvest my organs for the black market."

"I think you're mixing up your urban legends." The dark-haired girl placed her hands against her mouth to control her giggling. "How about this? My family has a membership card to a high-end gym in the city. There a lot of private pools _and_ _security cameras_ there, and we can still talk in peace."

Percy hesitated. The offer to swim was enticing, especially since he hadn't been to Montauk in ages and the school didn't have a pool…

He shook his head. "Look, I don't know what you've heard but I'm not a prostitute."

This time Hikari Kurosawa didn't bother to smother her laughter.

x

(Gym, New York, New York)

Perseus Jackson was one hell of a suspicious kid, so it took another ten minutes for Hikari convince him that she wasn't a pimp, murderer, organ smuggler, thief, kidnapper, organ smugger again, spy, mafia recruiter, or organ smuggler _again_. He had an awfully high opinion of his kidney then.

"This is a nice place," the boy commented, "Why do you have a membership card though? I thought your family lived in Connecticut."

"Now look who's trying to be a stalker," Hikari teased, liking how easy it was to make him blush. She resisted the urge to pinch his cheeks, guessing that it would earn another accusation of testing his skin for the illegal body operation she supposedly ran. "My mom's law firm gave her one as part of its incentives package and she gave it to me because it has a small archery range."

"You know archery? Is that how-"

"I'm not going to use my arrows to kill you," she interjected quickly.

"-You built up that muscle?" The boy smirked. "I'm not _that_ bad."

"You accused me of trying to kidnap you to steal your organs three times already."

"I only meant it twice," Percy grinned boyishly, apparently unafraid of her glare, "The last time was for the look on your face when I said it."

"I think I liked you better when you thought I was a criminal," the dark-haired girl grumbled under her breath, waving to the guard as she led them down the stairs to the basement. There were five rooms down there of varying size, each one turned into a pool and the smallest one almost always empty.

"Hey, aren't we going to use that one?" Percy looked hopefully towards the massive pool behind the glass doors they were walking by. She saw the two other swimmers inside and shook her head.

"Maybe later but I need to talk to you privately first." The room that they entered was only a quarter of the size of the previous one and the pool only five feet in depth but it was also empty. She kept a swimsuit in a permanent locker in the facility but she hadn't bothered to pick it up, so Hikari merely took off her shoes, rolled her pants up, and sat down at the edge. "You should probably strip down to your boxers."

"...I know we talked about this before, but I'm _really_ not that kind of guy."

Hikari rolled her eyes. "Don't flatter yourself. Pretty eyes or not, I'm not interested in molesting a fifth grader. Actually just sit down and let's have a talk."

The backhanded compliment made him blush again (seriously, if Annabeth and Percy were this adorable, then she was going to die of cuteness overload when she met kid Nico) before he sat across from her. She noticed that he hadn't taken off his shoes yet, to make it easier to escape.

"Okay, so before I start this, I'm going to say that this news will probably turn your world upside down," Hikari tapped at her necklace intermittently, "I want to give you the chance to refuse it-"

"Wait, you're starting to scare me here," Percy laughed nervously, "You're not actually part of the mafia, are you?!"

"Well, I'm Japanese, so no," she tried to joke, "Maybe the yakuza but I don't think they accept American fifth graders."

It fell flat and she continued. "It concerns your missing parent and strange incidents that you've probably tried to rationalize away. There are pros and cons to this, the biggest con being that this information will put your life in danger. Well, more danger than what you're currently in."

Percy stared at her in disbelief. "You know my father?"

"I know who your father _is_ ," she stressed, "But I've never met him and you haven't either."

"How do you know that about me?"

"I know a lot of things about you. I know that your mom had to raise you alone, that you have dyslexia and ADHD, that you sometimes see things that, at a second glance, look completely normal," Hikari paused, "I know that because I've gone through all of that too."

He kept staring at her, the look of consideration heavy. "Did you come to Monroe to spy on me?"

"I came to Monroe to help you, not to spy," she grimaced, and decided to be more honest about matters. Enough stories had shown her that holding back information could lead to terrible misunderstandings and infighting down the road. "My Dad helped me do it."

"You said your mom works at a law firm and that you went through the same thing as me," Percy accused, "How do you know your dad then?"

' _Percy can be annoyingly insightful sometimes,_ ' she realized. "I met my Dad two years ago. He… gave me this." She closed her eyes and mentally dispelled the illusion. Under her fingers, the dewdrop necklace appeared at the hollow of her throat.

"Wha- how- is- _that wasn't there a second ago_!"

"I hid it," she replied matter-of-factly, "Before I can tell you more, I want to give you the option of refusing. You can walk out of here, right now, and I'll never bring this conversation up again."

"I- I'm not sure," Percy was staring at the necklace now, as though expecting it to disappear any second, "You mentioned that my life was in danger? How about my mom's?"

"Mrs. Jackson isn't a target. Kids like you and me are," Hikari corrected, "Don't even think about running away. You wouldn't survive a month on the streets without the protection your mother arranged for you."

Percy jerked back and she knew that she had guessed correctly. "Protection? Because of what? Why would anyone want to kill me? I'm just a kid!"

"I can't answer that yet. Look, if I don't continue, you can live your life with your mom's protection at home and mine at school. You'll be fine for a little longer but soon everything will be revealed."

"If it's just a matter of time then…" Percy wandered aloud, "You said there would be pros too?"

"One of the benefits would be getting rid of your stepfather," she admitted freely.

The dark-haired boy's eyes flashed with eagerness there. "How much more danger will I be in?"

"Not that much. The way that this works is that if I admit everything out loud then your danger increases a lot, but if I hint at it, we can prepare without much more danger," Hikari explained, frustrated at how vague she had to be.

"Okay," Percy took a deep breath, "Okay. Then I want to know more."

"The first thing you need to know is that I'm not making everything up," Hikari dragged her backpack closer and withdrew a thick, well-thumbed tome. "Do you know how to read Ancient Greek?"

Percy blinked at the non-sequitur. "Uh, no. Obviously."

"Great," she chirped, handing him the book, "Start from the first page then."

"Not sure what this is going to prove, since I'm already dyslexic," he muttered, looking down. " _Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns… driven time and again off course, once he had plundered the hallowed heights of Troy…"_

Percy voice wandered off and his eyes scanned the words faster. "The letters aren't moving."

"Look closer," Hikari prompted softly, "Blink if you have to."

"I don't recognize them. This isn't English," Percy looked astounded. "I've never seen Ancient Greek before _in my life_ and now I'm suddenly fluent?"

"It's your birthright." Hikari didn't know it then, but when the dark-haired boy looked up, he saw the way her eyes sparked with enthusiasm. "Want to try another experiment with me?"

"Not sure if I have a choice, but sure," Percy closed the book. "Do I walk on water next?"

"Honestly, I think you might be able to do that," she said thoughtfully, "But no. I want you to stick your hand in the water and then pull it out. While you're doing that, think _really hard_ about your skin being dry."

Reading a book is a previously foreign language must have had more of an impact then she thought, because he didn't even hesitate to follow her orders. Percy submerged his arm halfway to the elbow, a look of concentration present, before withdrawing it to the water. Astounded, he offered it for a handshake. When she touched it, a massive smile spread across Hikari's face. It was dry.

"My father wasn't human, was he?"

"Don't let it get you down. Mine isn't either."

"I'm so reassured then," Percy's voice lost some of its sarcasm, "And because of that I'm in danger?"

"Monsters exist in this world, Percy," she warned, "Not just the metaphorical ones that make you wonder about the depths of depravity in the world but real, honest-to-life, flesh-and-blood monsters that will kill you for the power you will have."

"So I don't have to use an umbrella. Big deal," Percy scoffed, "I'm not a threat to anyone."

"You can do a lot more than that," Hikari said firmly, "You're a child of the sea. One day, you'll be able to command tides and tsunamis to bow to your will and much more. Even if you never use that power, the risk of your existence is too much for some people to ignore. Your father is the king of the ocean-"

"Triton? My father is King Triton?" The boy looked insulted when she merely gaped at him. "What? I may not do well in school but I know who the king of the ocean is. I saw _The Little Mermaid_."

For the third time today, Hikari Kurosawa found herself bursting into uncontrollable giggles. She suspected that this would not be an uncommon occurrence around Percy Jackson.

x

Omake

"Percy, I'm telling you that Triton is _not_ your father."

"I know. I'm doing this for family. Even if he's only my half-brother, I should learn more about him."

"Have you tried using an actual reference book then? Maybe studying Greek myths?"

"You know how hard it is to read with my dyslexia. Why not use a movie instead?"

"Because _The Little Mermaid_ isn't an accurate source!"

"How do you know? It could be secret information that Walt Disney wanted to share with other demigods. Wasn't he a Son of Apollo?"

"You're being ridiculous Percy."

"I'm being a good uncle. Let's see, there's Arista, Attina, Aquata, Adella, Adrinna…"

One and a half hours later…

"Man, my big brother is a _terrible_ dad."

"I'm not listening to you Percy."

"I mean, I get that he was being a protective at first by denying contact between mermaids and humans but being a dick by insulting her crush and destroying her collection of human garbage led to her to make a deal with Ursula-"

Twenty minutes later…

"And then he just _accepts_ it! Ariel doesn't know anything about the human world or even her husband, who, again, Triton didn't have a single conversation with before letting his daughter marry…"

Five minutes later…

"And after all of that. I feel much better about the horrible parenting that my dad gave me!"

x


	8. A Robot Angel Seduces My Best Friend

(Gym, New York, New York)

"I know it's late but I'll be done soon," Hikari replied, legs dangling as she spoke into the disposable cell. Her entire body was cloaked in light; spotty flashes of cream and black hinted at the demigod on the roof. "I finished my laps already so it'll be a quick swim and then I'll leave."

"I just don't like you out in the dark, musume," her mother fretted, "Is Percy there?"

"Yes, Mom, Percy's here," the dark-haired girl rolled her eyes and lifted her phone, "Say 'hello' Percy."

"Hello," the Son of Poseidon said obediently."Don't worry, Ms. Kurosawa. I promise to walk Hikari to the train station when we're done."

She elbowed the boy in the ribs while her mother shared her thanks. Hikari had only brought him to the law firm once- mostly because Takeshi tattled that she had made a real friend, the traitor- and Percy had been a hit with Chihiro. She thought he was just the sweetest, most well-behaved preteen boy ever and loved knowing that her antisocial daughter had made a real friend. It also reassured her to know that Hikari would have someone to protect her while walking to the station after a late school day, since she didn't know that her daughter could easily beat Percy in a fight.

' _Though I don't know how much longer that will be true.'_ Children of the Big Three were absolute _monsters_ when it came to battle potential and Percy himself was probably a waterbending prodigy. Throw him into a pool, spout some vague instruction about willpower, and insist that this is his birthright, and Percy will somehow float basketball-sized globes of water over your head to soak you. Or at least try to soak you; the water was so slow and unwieldy that she dodged it easily.

Still it had been a little more than a week since Percy figured out that he was the son of Poseidon, after she rifled through Homer and pointed to the name, while glaring him into not speaking it aloud. After that, Hikari had freely shared her current abilities ("Wait, so you use illusions to look this pretty? Does that mean you're a hag in real- _ow! Why are you hitting me?!_ "), gave him a knife ("And you're absolutely _sure_ this won't set the metal detectors off?"), and covered his belongings in golden dust ("But it looks like I'm wearing glitter!"). In that light, the rapid gains Percy was making in forming and holding those makeshift water balloons was ridiculously impressive.

"Any other worries Mom?" Hikari returned the phone to her ear.

"Only about whether or not you'll enjoy a new dinner menu Sarah made. Do you want to bring your new friend along?" Chihiro's voice suggested from the other end, "I know your grandfather wants to meet him…"

' _That's what I'm afraid of.'_ Hikari thought. "I think Percy's too busy today."

"Huh?" The boy in question glanced over. "What are you talking about?"

"Dinner with my family," she muttered back, as her mother suggested an alternative date.

"Does he have another day free?" Chihiro asked.

"I don't think he wants to Mom, and- oh, one second please," Hikari looked over quizzically.

"I wouldn't mind eating dinner at your house," Percy said, nervously fiddling with his sleeves.

"It's not a question of whether or not you'd mind," she informed him seriously, "It's about whether or not you would run screaming from me after a night with my family."

"I can hear you musume! Ask your young man if he's available next Friday."

"Mom, he's not my-" Hikari started, just as Percy affirmed that next Friday would work for him. Ignoring her input, her mother and new friend came to a quick agreement on dinner plans and Percy enthusiastically thanked the woman for the invitation. When it was done, he looked at her guiltily.

"Er, sorry," Percy's eyes were filled with an unfamiliar emotion. With a start, she recognized it as insecurity. "I didn't mean to force myself on you-"

"No, it's fine," she brushed off, "It'll be fun to bring a friend home."

Her final tone ended any discussion on the matter and they both fell to their own silences. Percy was quietly stewing in his self-loathing over the embarrassment Hikari must have felt over his friendship. Hikari was wondering at how different he seemed compared to the Percy Jackson in the books. Not that he wasn't sarcastic, defensive, and sweet but also the insecurity that he showed over her. It made him just a bit more real to her; he wasn't a hero and she his unofficial guardian angel but as two demigods struggling to find their bearings within a new friendship.

She was a little concerned with their current situation though.

Hikari would never have chosen a monster hunt in an unfamiliar city with stronger-than-average opponents and only two weeks training. Percy Jackson though was blinded by the prospect of gold; specifically of the golden monster dust that would let him get rid of Semmy Gabe. She sympathized with this but the gleeful anticipation on his face made him more reckless than usual.

ADHD made it difficult to sit still and wait for a long period of time, so they eventually changed methods. The dark-haired boy restlessly paced the roof while Hikari amused herself by curling up in a sunny spot and casting illusions on him. She had felt the itch to move too but the sunlight calmed her down.

' _I wonder if that would apply to Percy. The water increases his speed and strength but could it improve his powers of concentration too? I should make him read a book inside the pool._ '

If ADHD was the modern equivalent of a rigged spider sense for demigods then one way to lessen its effects should be to create a place to relax. And when were demigods most relaxed? When they were safely enconsed in their parent's domain, able to call on their divine power for protection.

"Why aren't any monsters attacking us?"

"Must not be our lucky day." She admired her work. "Dark blue hair suits you."

He blinked at the non-sequitur, tried to touch his hair, aborted the movement halfway, and stared at his sage green skin. "Kurosawa!"

They stayed like that for another two hours before agreeing to call it a day. While Percy was disappointed, Hikari was relieved. It was just her luck that the Keledone chose to attack then.

The dark-haired girl could barely feel the tremble in the asphalt below her, before the Son of Poseidon jerked her hand back. She stumbled backwards, the angry retort forming on her tongue dying a swift death as half of the sidewalk buckled inwards. Her feet had just missed the cracks. She could hear mortals screaming from around her and backing away as a humanoid figure pulled itself up through the hole.

"She's _pretty,_ " Percy breathed from beside her. Ignoring the sudden urge to slap the boy over the head, Hikari internally agreed with the assessment. A perfectly proportioned hourglass figure, silky waist-length blonde hair, retracted wings of golden feathers, and a deep bronze tan…

' _Wait. That doesn't look right._ ' The dark-haired Daughter of Apollo squinted and the final wisps of the Mist faded away to show that it wasn't a deep bronze tan at all; the gorgeous woman was actually a bronze automaton.

"Good day to you demigods," the automaton greeted. Even her voice was perfect; melting honey and butter dripping off of each sweet word. "I am Cerastes, youngest of the Keledones."

"You're pretty," Percy told her dreamily. A quick peek showed that his sea-green eyes were hazy.

"Thank you, demigod," Cerastes smiled prettily, winking at the boy. "Do you like my wings?"

"Pretty," the Son of Poseidon repeated. Hikari took a few steps back and dropped her backpack to her feet. She cursed her luck that it was so difficult to arm her bow and arrows in public.

"Indeed. Would you like to touch him?" Percy took one step closer, hands reaching up.

"Perseus Jackson, put your hand down this instant!" Hikari snapped, hand reaching into another pocket at the last second. The rebuke caused the boy to pause and look unsure. "Don't touch her!"

"But she's so pretty," Percy whined, "Like an angel."

"Yes," Cerastes agreed, "My wings are so beautiful. Their feathers are so soft. I would like you to touch them."

"She wants me to touch them." He looked at her pleadingly but still didn't move closer, "Please, Hikari, let's make the angel happy."

In response, the dark-haired girl uncapped the water bottle and promptly poured it all over his head. For good measure and to deal with her sudden onset of irritation, she kicked him too. He recoiled from the attack, appearing suddenly confused rather than bewitched.

"That's not an angel, Percy," Hikari informed her friend tersely, glaring at the serene woman, "That's an automaton from one of Apollo's temples. What are you doing here Kaledone?"

"Merely meeting my Master's new daughter," she answered sweetly and then struck. "Now DIE!"

Ceraste lunged forward, sharp nails slashing down, as Hikari jumped back. "Why the hell are you attacking me?!" She jerked her fingers downwards and a cloud of black smoke billowed around her.

"Need I a reason to fight a demigod?" The dark-haired girl managed to grab her bow before Cerastes jumped forward. The illusionary smoke followed but another slash barely missed her arm. "I can hear you demigod!"

"You're a lot less hot now!" Percy ran forward and the automaton batted him aside. "Ah!"

"Percy!" Hikari's eyes widened. She notched her first arrow, aimed, and fired. Cerastes' metallic wings rapidly closed around her body and the arrows bounced off.

"Not good enough!" The automaton next slash ripped down her shirt. Hikari kept trying to scramble back, her heart hitching as she felt cool stone behind her back.

' _Dammit!'_ She needed space! The dark-haired Daughter of Apollo pooled as much energy as she could to her right palm and then shoved it into the statue's eyes. ' _Let's try another flash bang!'_

Cerastes reeled back, eyes watering from the sudden spots as Hikari ducked under her arm. Her arm moved successively in another dozen scratches, gouging three-inch slashes on the walls. ' _The monster's only playing with us! It could have killed Percy already with that power!_ '

Percy was already struggling up to his feet as she ran to him. With a single thought, she increased the smoke and formed three illusory clones of herself. The tugging to her stomach became so sharp that she almost doubled over in pain. "You need to get out of here!"

"What? I can help you!" The dark-haired boy refuted, raising the bronze dagger in his hand.

"You're untrained. Run. I'll lead her away and escape," Hikari hissed.

"No way! I'm not leaving you here alone!"

"A battle is no place for a lover's spat demigods," Cerastes sung. "A-ha! Oh? A clone?"

She threw her head and laughed- a delightful peal of sound- as her claws ripped through an illusory copy of Hikari. The dark-haired girl fell into a petrified silence. The smoke was disguising them so far but the monster could turn on them any second.

Percy tugged at her hand. When she looked over, he pointed to the building.

' _There's a pool in the gym!_ ' Hikari dismissed the clones, condensed the smoke into a veritable cloud around the automaton, grabbed his hand and ran. ' _She's ridiculously out of our league. Please, please, please don't let us die._ '

They had reached the swinging door when she could hear Cerastes running after them. Despite the speed the monster had shown before, by some miracle Percy and Hikari were able to outpace her as they ran down the stairs to the basement floor. In the back of her mind, something niggled in her mind about this situation being decidedly odd.

"You have trapped yourself here," the automaton crowed, once she burst into the smallest pool room. Her eyes flitted over Hikari, her body painted almost perfectly to match the pale blue tiles of the walls, as she edged around to the monster's back. "Has the cowardly Daughter of Apollo abandoned you to die demigod?"

The Son of Poseidon glared at her. "The only one who's going to die here is you!"

The blue-eyed girl withdrew the small dagger that she kept alongside her bow. This would have to be timed perfectly.

"You cannot defeat me alone boy," Cerastes chuckled, her voice melting into soft velvet, "And you have no desire to harm one such as I now, do you?"

For a brief second, Hikari was utterly terrified that her friend would fall under the automaton's spell again but she didn't have enough faith. Percy's glare was utterly glacial.

"I- I'm the one who's g-going to put you down," she piped up, fear cracking her voice. Her stomach eased by half as her body came into focus, Cerastes spinning around to see her.

"You don't have what it takes little- BLAH!" Percy had jumped into the pool. Percy had released all of his pent up energy. Percy had summoned a massive wall of water to crash into a bronze creature of circuits and wiring.

He had also splashed Hikari and centered her almost out-of-control terror. Cerastes screamed in fury and spun around, an invisible dagger of celestial bronze flew true, and her father's automaton suddenly had a knife plunged into her stomach.

There was a loud clanging sound as Cerastes crashed to the floor. Hikari's legs buckled and an exhausted demigod fell less than a heartbeat later.

' _It's slowly disintegrating,_ ' she thought foggily, adrenaline and terror and glee causing her head to spin. Hikari was vaguely aware of Percy pulling himself out of the pool and hurrying to her side.

Her attention was truly gained though by the bright white light glowing from her neck. She was too exhausted for even this minor illusion and her necklace was on full display to the world. The teardrop diamond glimmered white then red then blue then green then yellow and Cerastes eyes flashed same.

"What's going on?" Hikari's eyes flew to the smiling automaton. "What are you doing?"

"Showing my approval." The eerie charm of her voice had faded but the remaining sound was still lovely. "You have done well Daughter of Apollo."

Cerastes eyes closed and a second later there was only a small pile of golden dust where the automaton had been. ' _I- have I just been tested?!'_

"What just happened?" Percy's arms reached under her own to pull her up to a seating position.

"I think I got a prize," Hikari told him, touching her dewdrop necklace. It wasn't glowing any odd colors anymore but something felt different about it all. "She was playing with us."

"She nearly killed us."

"I know," she murmured, "We're going to have to be even better next time."

She imagined Cerastes, beautiful and deadly and fully in control of their fight, testing her as a child of Apollo. She wouldn't be afforded the generosity of a being that served her father again. She needed to get stronger. Percy needed it even more.

"If that's the kind of monster that's going to be chasing us, then I can understand why our kind- demigods, right?- don't live for long."

Still holding her necklace for comfort, she tried to copy her grandfather's tone. "Now young man-"

Hikari paused. The necklace grew warm. And her words remained a perfect mimicry of Satoru Kurosawa's voice.

x

(Jackson Residence, New York, New York)

"Mom, Hikari and I need to talk to you about something."

"We do?" With a mouthful of warm, gooey, and yes, _blue_ chocolate chip cookies in her, the words came out a little mumbled.

"Yes. We do," Percy's voice was firm. "Mom you should probably sit down."

He had chosen a good time to do this. Both Hikari and Ms. Jackson were unsettled by their first meeting in the Jackson home. In her case, she was trying to balance between her normally assertive, seemingly precocious self and the more childish persona she had shown Ms. Jackson. In the latter, Percy's mom was trying to deal with the fact that a demigod had befriended her son. The blue-eyed girl had encouraged Percy to keep their friendship a secret but he was too close to his mother to ever feel comfortable with that.

It helped that in Hikari's backpack was a medium-sized tupperware container filled with monster ashes. They had defeated only one Manhattan monster so far but Hikari had hunted her own town's monsters to near-extinction. Barely any beasts reformed in Greenwich anymore.

"What is this about Percy?" The brunette woman looked warily at the two sitting demigods, her eyes pleading with Hikari not to reveal anything. The dark-haired girl felt immensely guilty.

"I know who Dad is," Percy admitted.

Sally blanched. "I was going to tell you when…"

"It's okay Mom. I know," his face softened, "You only wanted the best for me."

"That's all I ever wanted Percy," Sally's eyes misted, "That's what all mothers want."

Hikari fidgeted in her seat. It felt awkward to intrude on this touching mother-son moment.

"Did you think that I wouldn't find out," the Son of Poseidon asked gently.

"In her defense," the dark-haired girl interjected, "I gave you all of the clues and you still thought it was Ariel's dad."

"Ariel? From _The Little Mermaid_?" Sally's hand didn't quite hide her smile.

"Kurosawa!" Percy flushed, "You didn't have to tell her that."

"I'm the daughter of the god of truth," she sniffed, "I will not lie."

The boy opened his mouth to argue but was distracted by his mother's giggling. "I'm sorry. You two just look so cute together."

There was a momentary pause before her son leaned forward with an earnest expression. "Mom we need to get rid of Smelly Gabe."

Ms. Jackson faltered. "Percy, Gabriel has been good for us in a way you don't understand."

He shook his head. "You can divorce him Mom. We don't need to hide behind his scent anymore. Hikari's known she was a demigod for awhile now and she's found a way to disguise my scent without that assh- jerk."

Hikari took this as her cue to withdraw the tupperware of glittering golden dust and show it to the woman. Sally looked stunned as Percy explained everything that had happened to him so far (glossing over the Keledone fight). When he revealed that he had no plans to go to Camp Half-Blood until he absolutely had to, he received a crushing hug from his tearful mom. The two then proceeded to sprinkle every facet of the Jackson's home in gold dust, with his mother's blessing.

Before they left, Sally Jackson drew her into a hug too. " _Thank you."_

x

(Greenwich, Connecticut)

"Here. Hold this." Percy barely had time to react before the dark-haired Daughter of Apollo nonchalantly dropped her backpack into his hands. He grimaced and tried not to drop the 18 extra pounds suddenly weighing him down.

"What do you have in here?"

"Homework." Hikari tapped at the hollow of her neck, peering out the train.

"Homework?" He repeated incredulously, "This bag weighs twice as much as mine and we take the same classes!"

"And I actually do my homework," she retorted, turning to look at him. "Are you sure that you want to come with me? I won't be offended if you choose to back out now."

Percy looked down, trying not to feel hurt. The clothes weren't new but his mom had pressed his best white dress shirt and bought a second-hand pair of slacks and black vest. He had thought that he looked too formal at first but now he was reconsidering. "More blue cheesecake for me then, I guess."

A sharp poke to his ribs- she was getting too fond of that- and he looked up to narrowed sky blue eyes. "I'm not embarrassed about you, Percy. I'm trying to save you from an uncomfortable evening."

"I fought monsters with you before," he reminded her.

"You can't stab my grandfather with a celestial bronze knife."

"Because he's your grandfather or because the knife won't work on mortals?"

"Because he'll hit you with his cane and then sue your entire family," Hikari grinned, "Seriously though, Grandfather's a traditional man."

"Is that why I'm carrying your bag?"

"Yes, but it won't be for too long. The station's only a few blocks away from my house. Just remember not to interrupt him and pull out the chair for me, and we should be fine."

Percy thought that Hikari was even more nervous than he was, which paradoxically made him feel better. It occurred to him that while this was his first dinner at a friend's house, it was _her_ first time inviting a friend home. Impulsively, he reached out and squeezed her hand, receiving a puzzled but happy smile in response.

The ten minute walk to the Kurosawa residence was a revealing one. The houses were all small mansions separated by freshly-cut grass, plenty of trees, and carefully manicured flowerbeds. The cookie-cutter, mostly middle-aged professionals that walked by, who usually wouldn't give Percy the time of day, smiled at them. Hikari's crisp school uniform, that had always seemed a little out-of-place at their actual _school,_ fit perfectly here.

' _So this is the world that my best friend comes from.'_ Percy's eyes widened as he was led up the driveway to one of the bigger houses in the area. ' _I'm so glad that Mom made me wear this.'_

"Hikari!" An otherwise plain brunette with a nice voice said, opening the door. "I see that you've brought a friend home."

"Mom wanted to invite him to dinner." Percy was surprised by how flustered his friend looked. "Sarah, this is Percy Jackson from school. Percy, Sarah."

"I'm the housekeeper here," the brunette explained, accepting the bags. To Hikari, "Your mother isn't here yet but Mr. Kurosawa is waiting in the living room."

"Welcome to the Kurosawa Residence, Percy," she added, looking at him encouragingly, "I hope you enjoy your time here."

The Son of Poseidon didn't have much time to question her odd reaction because by then Hikari had his arm in a vice grip and was resolutely marching forward. They entered a well-furnished room of walnut wood and dark blue carpeting where an old man waited. Hikari's Grandfather had hair that was more grey than black, wrinkled skin, and a cane, but there was something in his stature that demanded one's respect.

He recalled something that his friend had shared before. " _Grandfather grew up in the post-World War II economic collapse of Japan. He's a self-made man that believes in hard work and discipline and doesn't tolerate any nonsense."_

His expression was also familiar to the boy. Hikari had the same look on her face before she ducked his face into the pool. He learned that he could breathe underwater that day.

"So you're my granddaughter's new friend." Percy got the impression that Mr. Kurosawa was distinctly unimpressed at his eyes lingered on the frayed thread of his vest collar. "Perseus Jackson."

"Yes. Sir," he added the title belatedly, "You can call me Percy."

" _Perseus,"_ Mr. Kurosawa emphasized, "Are you Greek boy?"

"Er, I think so?" Percy replied.

"You _think?_ " The boy flushed. "Stand up straight boy! Pride is shown through proper posture!"

Percy promptly straightened up.

Mr. Kurosawa continued. "You met my granddaughter at school. How are your grades?"

The dark-haired boy foundered. Hikari intervened. "Percy's best subject in school is math, Grandfather."

"Then he does poorly in his other subjects?" The old man snorted. "I see that your mother's preference for fools lives on for another generation."

Now it was Hikari's turn to flounder. Thankfully Mr. Kurosawa moved on. "Do you play any sports, Perseus?"

"I like to swim. Sir," he admitted cautiously.

"You do have a swimmer's build." Percy tried not to fidget under the critical stare. "Not many opportunities to practice in the city though. I doubt your mother can afford the membership fees to the better gyms."

The Son of Poseidon twitched. He didn't like being insulted, but for Hikari's sake, he could deal with it. No one would mock Sally Jackson in front of him though…

"My mom gives me every opportunity I need, thank you," Percy said hotly.

Satoru Kurosawa almost smiled at him. "At least you have spirit boy."

Spirit was apparently not enough for Percy to avoid almost ten minutes more of Mr. Kurosawa's interrogation. There were several times when he wanted to snap at the old man but seeing the apologetic look on his friend's face held him back. Hikari had her silky black hair up in a high ponytail today, so Percy got a perfect look at the embarrassed flush creeping from her face to her collarbones and even up her ears. It was adorable in a steaming teakettle kind of way.

In fact, the more he focused on the way her sky blue eyes were flashing indignantly ( _for him_ , no one else but his mother had ever felt that way for him), the more he was able to drown out Mr. Kurosawa.

Finally the old man paused, studied him intently, threw up his hands, and declared something in Japanese. Percy was less interested in that than the way Hikari's face neatly transitioned from strawberry to nuclear-reactive tomato.

"What did he say?" The Son of Poseidon whispered to her over the loud _click-clack_ of Mr. Kurosawa's cane on the wooden floor.

"Nothing," Hikari squeaked back. He decided not to push her. It was probably just another insult.

They entered a dining room that was almost twice the size of the Jackson's living room and had more chairs around the massive walnut table than the Kurosawa family could ever need. Percy hesitated at the doorway, unsure of where to sit exactly, before Hikari (shooting a pointed look at her grandfather all the while) grabbed his hand and dragged him to the second one on the left. She took the one beside him, with Mr. Kurosawa sitting at the head of the table and an additional place setting probably being for Ms. Kurosawa. The dark-haired boy was merely grateful that there were no extra utensils. A silence settled over the dining room before a chiming voice broke it.

"I'm sorry I'm late!" Chihiro Kurosawa was shrugging off her coat as she walked in, "There were some paperwork irregularities with this client- Percy! It's good to see you."

Not waiting for a reply, she hurried forward to kiss her father and daughter's cheeks and sit down. Looking around the table, se cheerfully commented on the weather, chided her father for arranging a formal meal, and inquired about the kids' day. All of this was completed within a minute and Percy ducked his head to hide his grin. So _that's_ wear Hikari inherited her endless stream of breathless chatter from.

The rest of dinner passed with little awkwardness. Hikari's mom managed to soften Mr. Kurosawa and calm Hikari with just her presence and was friendly to Percy. It also bolstered his self-confidence that at least _one_ of his best friend's family members liked him. After dinner was over, Hikari insisted on having his mom's blueberry cheesecake along with the prepared desserts and that went over well too.

When it was over and Percy was waiting in the foyer for Alex to pull the car over (Ms. Kurosawa had overridden his protests) he was exhausted. Desperately keeping onto his manners, avoiding Mr. Kurosawa's eyes, and dealing with Hikari's inexplicable bad mood had drained him of his energy. Percy couldn't wait until he was home again.

"Thanks for coming. I know Grandfather could be…"

"I don't know what you're talking about. Mr. Kurosawa loves me."

"Haha, I wouldn't go _that_ far. He does like you though. He didn't forbid me from inviting you over again." Hikari looked at him hopefully. "Do you maybe want to hang out this weekend?"

' _No. Not at all.'_ Percy thought. His will wavered in front of sky blue orbs. "Er, I'll have to ask my mom…"

x

Omake

"I will devour you demi- argh!" The grey-skinned beast staggered back, meaty paws clawing at his eyes, "What did you to me? I am blind!"

' _And smelly,'_ Hikari wrinkled her nose, fingertips dancing across an invisible musical instrument as the cloud of darkness centered around the monster's eyes. She darted forward to sweep its legs, as her diminutive height prevented her from any chest-based attacks. It fell over on its back.

"You will pay for this demigod!"

' _I'm sure I will,_ ' she reflected, checking her wristwatch and seeing that she was already running late for class. Eh, with two periods missed already, it wouldn't hurt to skip today.

The dark-haired girl cupped her hands together in direct sunlight and focused. Wherever the sunshine touched her palms, it seemed to ripple and bend and weave, particles consolidating together into a substance that was not quite solid in her hands. It felt like rich warm jello was spilling over her fingers though Percy had previously touched it and found that it burned his skin.

Solidifying light particles to form photokinetic constructs was one of her most draining techniques- second only to the creation and manipulation of plagues- and she used it rarely. The Daughter of Apollo hadn't planned to go hunting today though and there wasn't any rope available for bindings.

' _This will have to do.'_ The almost-solid sunshine strands interwove tightly until a thin but indescribably hot rope of condensed solar energy was in her hands. She wove it into a lasso and promptly threw it.

The pained howl of the beast that derailed her train this morning was music to her ears.

Her enemy temporarily disabled, Hikari stepped closer and studied him. Hmm, the shirt and pants were thoroughly ruined but that gold watch looked _excellent_ for Grandfather. She would be taking the umbrella too; she had ruined the last one monster-fighting and Sarah would be miffed if she didn't replace it soon. And maybe the tie. Mr. Blofis liked corduroy, right?

Divesting the monster of her spoils of war, the suddenly more cheerful girl beheaded it. With the addition of the watch, Hikari could cancel Grandfather from her Christmas list. She had already found a mythology book for Annabeth, celestial bronze paperweights for Chiron, and sneakers for Will from the various monster hunts around the city. Hey, now that she had some free time, maybe she could go up to Madison and see if any jewels were available for her mom? If she couldn't find any useful gifts than the money would still be helpful later on.

Christmas shopping was so much fun when you didn't have to pay for anything!

x


	9. Percy Dresses Up In Bedsheets

(Central Park, New York, New York)

The rest of the year was a fundamentals boot camp for Percy. There were a lot of basic exercises to build up his strength, speed, endurance, and agility and a crash course in Greek mythology after that. She didn't know how to teach him swordsmanship (and the less said about his archery skills, the better) but he wasn't too bad at stabbing monsters with a knife. The main focus though was on his waterbending abilities; Percy's power may have kept outpacing their control but he could manipulate a dozen fist-sized balls of water with just his mind now!

After he learned how to bend three spheres of water simultaneously, Hikari agreed to bring him to a monster hunt. It was surprising how effective a team they were, between her long-range skills and his up-close-and-personal fighting style. Sure, they had had to flee under her smoke cloud and illusory clone tricks but they could bring most small to mid-sized monsters down without much effort. The money and assorted goods from the hunts were equally divided because Percy, despite having money problems at home, was just too damn noble to accept more than his fair share.

At least he accepted the gym membership card. Hikari had been right. Taking a textbook with him underwater did indeed bring his average up to a solid B-.

The Son of Poseidon was a little more irritated than usual though when he jumped down from the tree and stabbed a knife through the monster's head. The beast crumbled down to dust as Percy rolled away from the impact. After they had gathered as much of the dust as possible, she turned to him.

"Okay, what's going on?" Hikari raised an unimpressed brow at his scowl. She had mastered her grandfather's expression. "Don't give me that look. You've been acting weird all week."

"Nothing's wrong," he grunted, counting out the money. Since this was one of the more feral monsters, it wasn't much.

She watched his expression carefully. "Money problems?"

Now it was Percy's turn to look unimpressed. "Has anyone told you that for such a sweet, well-behaved girl, you can be really nosy sometimes?"

"No one who knows me would call me a sweet, well-behaved girl," she denied, "Maybe I can help."

A brief flicker of hesitation. "No. If I want to be anything in life, then I need to learn how to handle my own problems. I can't just rely on my friends to do it for me."

' _So it's that philosophy again…'_

"I would agree with you," she began carefully, "If you relied on your friends for everything. There is no shame in accepting a friend's help though if you need it _sometimes_. Two brains are better than one, a burden shared is a burden halved, and so on."

"You're too stubborn to let it go, so I guess it doesn't matter," Percy replied, smiling a little. "It's not money exactly, though it would help. It's Smelly Gabe."

"That asshole?" Hikari cocked her head to the side. "I thought your mom kicked him to the curb."

"She did," Percy couldn't help but brighten up a little at the memory. "But someone needs to tell _him_ that. He keeps showing up at the apartment and harassing my mom. She called the police last time and he was in a screaming fit when they dragged him away."

"You think he's going to hurt her?" A shiver of fear crawled down Hikari's spine. This hadn't happened in canon. Was Sally going to get hurt because of what _she_ did?

"I don't know," the dark-haired boy shrugged but she could see worry darken those sea green eyes. "I'd like to move us to a new apartment where Gabe can't find us but we don't have the money yet."

"I'll give you the money then."

"I can't-"

"It's a loan. For your mom."

Percy's stubbornness deflated. "Thanks. I'll pay you back. I promise."

"I know you will," she responded warmly. The loan would probably wipe out her savings but she could hardly do nothing if Sally Jackson was in danger. Though if money was the problem, she _may_ have a solution. "My mom's firm is looking for a new secretary."

Percy looked puzzled. "Good for them?"

"You won't get any free candy samples but the pay is better," she elaborated. "I can ask my mom to put in a good word for her."

The Son of Poseidon just stared at her and for a second, she was afraid that she had offended him. Money was a touchy subject for Percy and while she hadn't _meant_ to be insulting…

"Oomph." The sudden hug was more awkward than endearing. He hadn't quite timed it right and his elbow was digging into her kidneys. Percy's body was cold too and the overpowering scent of salt water made her want to sneeze.

Hikari relaxed into the hug regardless. She liked hugs.

x

(Yancy Academy, Syracuse, New York)

Grover Underwood was a cowardly satyr. Grover Underwood was a loyal friend.

Grover Underwood was struggling between the two aspects of his nature now, as he faced a harmless looking child that practically oozed a monster's scent. Even worse than the powerful monster's proximity to him was how his new friend was looking at the pretty girl. Shaking off the quivering hand holding him back, Percy Jackson stepped closer and _hugged_ the deadly being.

"Grover, this is my best friend, Hikari Kurosawa," the demigod introduced, one arm loosely around narrow shoulders, "Hikari, this is Grover. He was in my first period Spanish class and he's pretty cool."

"It's nice to meet you," Hikari said, offering a hand to him. Percy frowned when the satyr nearly back peddled by two feet. "Er, okay then. Are you buying lunch today?"

"Nah, my Mom packed me something," Percy replied. "Have you picked out a table?"

"There's an empty one near the back," Hikari affirmed, "Would you like to sit with us Grover?"

Grover shook in his sneaker-clad hooves. Hikari didn't look particularly dangerous. She was slight, lithe, and fragile, with wide blue eyes and raven dark bangs that framed a rounded jaw. No one would mistake her for a monster but Grover's nose wasn't deceiving him!

"Uh, er, well, um…" The satyr mumbled fearfully. He swallowed a painfully dry throat and focused on Percy. He needed to keep the boy safe. "Yes, please."

' _The monster won't kill me. The monster won't kill me. We're in public and the monster won't kill me,'_ Grover silently chanted, as he followed the two kids to a plastic round table. "H-how long have y-you known Percy?"

"Oh, it's been over a year now, hasn't it?" The monster mused, exchanging a fond smile with her prey. "We met at our last school."

' _And you haven't eaten him yet?'_ Grover wondered, ' _She must be fattening him up for later.'_

That suspicion was only supported when she admonished him for ignoring his salad a minute later.

"We shared _a lot_ of classes together." Percy looked amused for some reason. "But Hikari! What a great schedule you have."

"The better to tutor you with, my dear," the monster adopted a gruff tone, grinning back. The third member of the group felt rather lost.

That feeling didn't disappear throughout the meal. Percy was very friendly and open to him, but kept falling into inside references and jokes that only made sense to the monster. The two appeared to be close to one another and rather then reassure him, this made Grover all the more sad. Percy was going to be absolutely crushed when Kurosawa tried to eat him.

"Is there something wrong with your lunch?" The monster asked, noticing him pick on his sandwich.

"Uh, just not feeling like peanut butter and jelly today, I guess," the satyr said weakly.

"You can pick something from my box," she offered, leaning forward to give him a better look. Immediately Grover recoiled in fear, almost toppling over the seat, and causing a hurt expression to cross the monster's pretty facsimile. The satyr cringed. Even knowing that she was a monster didn't detract from his reactive guilt in making her feel that sad.

Now Percy was frowning at him too. "What's going on with you, man? You've been acting like a jerk to Hikari. Do you have a grudge against her or something?"

"W-what? N-no, I h-haven't," Grover denied. "I just m-met her today."

"Then why are you acting like she forgot to bathe for the last month?" The demigod demanded. His sea green eyes narrowed at him and for a minute, the air around them had a distinct brine scent.

Then the monster touched his elbow and the pressure in the air disappeared. Sky blue eyes looked at him oddly and then an amused smile crossed the girl's face. "Grover? Do you think I'm a monster?"

' _She's on to me!_ ' The satyr wailed inside. He immediately braced himself to jump in front of Percy, if she moved to attack the boy. When she was busy killing him, the boy might be able to get away.

Her next words dashed that assumption. "It must be all that golden dust in my backpack."

"Huh?" Grover had no idea what to do when she passed an opened light blue backpack to him. The edges of golden dust filled tupperware was present out of the corner of his eye.

"Percy and I collect the dust from the monsters we've killed," the girl continued blithely, "Your satyr nose must have caught that first and assumed that I was a monster. I'm actually a demigod."

He stared at them blankly. "You… know that I'm a satyr?"

"Well, yeah." Now it was Percy's turn to look amused. "I mean eating soda cans during gym would tip anyone off."

"I was hiding it behind the Mist," Grover said, flushing red.

"Explains why it was a Fanta can one second and a carrot the next," Percy allowed. "We've known about the other world for awhile now. We were just waiting until a satyr found us to go to Camp."

"I hope that clears up any worries you have," Hikari added. "You can safely sit next to me. Unless you're allergic to monster dust or anything like that."

x

(Poseidon's Throne Room, Atlantis)

There was a small but not insignificant smile on Poseidon's face as he watched the scene in the overlapping rays of light. It wasn't often that he was able to peek into his mortal son's life, though his Nereids kept him updated on any developments.

Sally had rid herself of that disgusting mortal.

Percy had brought his grades up at school.

Sally had found a new job with better pay.

Percy had made another friend at Yancy.

He was having an enchilada eating contest with the satyr now as a pretty, dark-haired girl watched in revolted fascination. The last time he had seen her, she was scolding his wincing son over being expelled from school. Apparently the Daughter of Apollo had contracted the flu before the end-of-year trip and Percy had celebrated his independence by accidentally blowing up a school bus.

"They look good together, don't you think?" A man with an exact copy of the girl's eyes smiled as brightly as the sun. "Not that anyone could look bad with my little dewdrop on his arm but Percy-"

"Yes Apollo. I agree," the God of the Ocean hurriedly stated before he could really hit his stride. Most men would balk at their daughters dating but not his playboy nephew. "Are you ready for the meeting?"

"Of course!" The serious attitude that he had shown before when he spoke of being proactive about the bolt disappeared. "I even feel inspired by it. In fact… _The sun can see all. It will shine through mysteries…_ "

Poseidon teleported away before he would be forced to listen to any more of Apollo's terrible haiku. He may have been grateful to the younger god for supporting Percy but poetry was not amongst the man's talents. He entered a throne room that would put all those in the mortal realm to shame, each footstep increasing his size until his head was just shy of one of the supporting marble columns. Striding forward, he sat in the second biggest throne in the room (currently configured to a tropical setting to piss his brother off) and surveyed the area.

Despite being the one to suggest the meeting, Poseidon was only the third Olympian to enter the room. To his immediate left was Hephaestus, distractedly fiddling with a handful of golden wires in his hand, though the God of the Sea knew his ears would remain attentive. A few seats over was Hera; a serene look present on her face belying the machinations undoubtedly crackling through her mind. His sister would make a good ally, if approached carefully. Her general dislike for demigods could be easily eclipsed by the fury she had displayed when Thalia and Jason Grace were revealed.

More of the Olympians entered. Artemis and Apollo together as always, the brother tweaking his sister's nose with ever more outlandish compliments to her Hunters. Aphrodite humming a whimsical tune, Ares muttering darkly about some foolish mortal, Demeter munching on a granola bar, and Hermes focused on his PDA. Zeus came in beside Athena, his favorite daughter calmly discussing some matter or the other. Dionysus flashed in last, his cheetah-print silk shirt matching the beleaguered expression on his face.

' _He has gotten rather good at faking that in the last few decades._ ' His Twice-Born nephew had a far greater affinity for demigods than most of the Olympians and an admittedly ingenious means of bypassing the Ancient Laws. By getting himself regularly banished to the mortal realm, coincidentally when his children happened to attend the Camp, Dionysus was able to be the parent many could not. Poseidon would have liked to do something similar, had he not his responsibilities and independence from his brother's domain. He was far too powerful an Olympian to face banishment.

"Why have you summoned us to this meeting, brother?" Zeus demanded crossly. "Have you found the thief of my lightning bolt?"

"I have not. This meeting is in regards to another issue."

"Well do not keep us in suspense, Uncle," Artemis replied, "There is much to be done. Tell us quickly."

"I would rather not repeat myself." Poseidon took a deep breath and tried not to grimace when a pool of shadows around the entrance awning grew thicker. "Our eldest brother has a longer commute to Olympus but he should be here presently."

"Hades had already been invited for the Winter Solstice," Zeus rebuked, "He shouldn't be here for any other days of the year."

"Nonetheless, I have been invited," the God of the Dead's voice was nearly soundless and yet reached every one of their ears. The not-quite-gaunt man stepped forward, a cloak of ink black hiding the pale skin of his flesh from sight. "Why have you called me here Poseidon?"

"For an admission." A wave of his hand assembled a throne of black granite between himself and Zeus. As the eldest brother, this was Hades' right and one he did not deny. "I have broken the Oath and sired a mortal son."

The revelation hung for a mere heartbeat before calamity broke. He sat back, an oasis of serenity in the storm, as questions, accusations, and counter-accusations were flung around the room. Zeus was demanding his son's head on a platter, Hades' face had fallen into the white fury of silence, and Dionysus was loudly groaning to another Son of Poseidon. Athena's eyes met him then, a brief flash of sympathy hiding behind the logical assessments of her mind.

"You have broken the Oath," Zeus rumbled when the room had fallen to an uneasy silence, "You have sired a child against the River Styx, against your own sacred promise. You have put us at risk of the Prophecy and Olympus' destruction."

Poseidon met his gaze calmly. "As have you."

That broke into another round of chaos that ultimately broke down to deep tension.

"Does this boy know of his status?" Athena inquired softly. _Did he steal the lightning bolt?_

"I've never spoken to him," Poseidon admitted, "But he is aware of us."

"My daughter befriended him at school," Apollo interjected, "She told him of his demigod status."

Zeus' stormy eyes fell on his son next. "You knew? You knew and didn't think to tell me?"

Apollo shrugged easily. "Do you think I know the parentage of any of my children's friends?"

"I think you know more about this then you'll admit." Hades glowered. "What are you and Poseidon planning?"

"Their friendship was not premeditated on my part," Poseidon denied, "The two have only been in contact with one another and any monsters that chose to hunt them. They haven't even been offered a place at Camp yet. I believe a satyr is currently seeking them out."

Eyes fell to Dionysus and the young Olympian rolled his eyes. "Yes, Chiron did mention something about a powerful new demigod that he wanted to scope out. Not that he considered how inconvenienced I would be without another player for my pinnacolo games. Too important to leave alone, he said. Stalked over by one of Hades' pets, he said. Bah!"

"You set one of your agents on my son?" Poseidon's fingers curled inward and intermittent flashes of a golden trident flickered in his hand. "Explain yourself Hades!"

"Do not make demands of me!" His brother snapped back, "You are the one with a demigod son, Poseidon. You and Zeus pressured me into the blasted Oath in the first place and then I was the only one to uphold it!"

The God of the Dead snarled at Apollo next. "Poseidon's son has the motive and your daughter, the power. Have you two conspired together to start another war?"

"Is that true, Apollo?" Thunder rumbled in the background. "Do you have my stolen bolt? If so, return it and I will not strip the flesh off your bones and scatter them throughout Tartarus."

"You cannot merely assume that my brother is guilty," Artemis refuted fiercely, "This is not justice!"

"If not Poseidon, then who else would steal my symbol of power? The cyclops forges are underneath the sea and he could easily pressure them to forge copies for himself."

"Unless Hades is doing it to start a war and expand his kingdom," Ares pointed out, grinning.

"Whoa, let's not move straight to war here," Hermes' paled, "Violence is never good for commerce."

"There is a simple way to determine is Poseidon's son is the thief," Athena stated, "Summon the demigods and have them swear a vow on the River Styx."

"What? No! I refuse to tie any child of mine to a vow!"

"Why would that be, Apollo?" Ares' taunted, "Do you have anything to hide?"

"A vow will tie up some a great deal of their power, as you well know," Poseidon replied, scowling, "There is a reason why demigods are forbidden from making them without their godly parent's permission. I will not allow my son to be crippled to soothe your delicate sensibilities, Athena."

"I do not see if there should be another way to prove his innocence," the Goddess of Wisdom returned, "For the sake of peace, I would say that we should kill him regardless. Even if he is not the thief, then there is the Prophecy to consider."

"If we are executing possible thieves then his friend will have to be dealt with too," Demeter noted.

Apollo focused golden eyes on the older Olympian, the warmth of his gaze intensifying to white hot flames. "If you kill Hikari, then you won't have to worry about Poseidon starting the next godly war."

The blunt statement shut the others down and for a few seconds, it was only nervous glances being traded between the various gods. Poseidon eyed the Sun God curiously. How powerful was this child?

"A compromise," Hera finally spoke, "Poseidon's son will be issued a quest to discover the lightning bolt. Should he find it before the Summer Solstice, his life will be spared."

As the other Olympians gave their assent, some more reluctantly than others, Poseidon watched his eldest brother. Hades' face still bore the blank look of his fury and the God of the Sea had the uncomfortable notion that there was yet more behind the scenes that would endanger Percy's life.

x

Jackson Apartment, New York, New York

"I look like an idiot."

"It was the best I could do on such short notice."

"And again, it makes me look like an idiot."

"I'd like to see you do any better," Hikari huffed, stepping back. The cut-up bedsheets weren't the best material to work with but they made a passably nice toga. It looked a bit like a one-sleeved white dress actually, especially with the brown leather belt she had to tie around his waist to keep it up. Above his heart was a horse brooch made of black plastic. The one area where Percy refused to follow the Ancient Greeks was with underwear.

Percy looked at himself in the mirror dubiously. The makeshift outfit made him appear to be a little kid dressing up for Halloween than a serious demigod diplomat meeting Poseidon's tributaries.

"Why am I doing this?" Percy asked, as the dark-haired girl attacked his own unruly mess of hair with a gleam in her eye and copious amounts of gel.

"It's rude for a visiting prince to not acknowledge the rulers of another god's territory," Hikari replied, focusing on one particularly rebellious curl.

" _I live here!"_

"Which means they'll be even more irritated that it took you twelve years to do it."

Hikari looked quite pleased when she stepped away this time and Percy looked to the mirror to see that his hair had been arranged to an oddly appealing mess. One lock was curled against his forehead while the rest made him look like the one image he had of his half-brother, Theseus.

"You look very nice, Percy," the girl noted. The Son of Poseidon averted his eyes, feeling his cheeks get hotter and hoping that she didn't notice. He suddenly felt a lot less irritated by the outfit.

"Listen, these are minor gods and most don't even know they exist now," Hikari advised, grabbing his hands and pulling him forward until he was facing sky blue eyes directly. "They feel like the modern world and the Olympians both passed them by. A little respect will go a long way with them."

"And I need all of the support I can get," Percy realized, the familiar churn of his stomach approaching as he considered how many Olympians wanted him dead. "This will make them like me more."

"You need friends wherever you can get them and these gods will have the homefield advantage in Manhattan," Hikari stated firmly. Her eyes glimmered in the same way her cousin's did in that one screen message Percy had had with him. It was sly, calculating, cold, and never failed to make him feel uncomfortable. "Who knows when the spirits of the Hudson and East Side will come in handy?"

Then the slyness disappeared and it was the same open and kind look he was used to seeing from Hikari. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, I think I need to do this alone," Percy replied. In all honesty, a Son of Poseidon would be better prepared to deal with two angry water spirits. And he didn't want Hikari to get hurt. "Thanks."

"I know you can do it," the dark-haired girl added supportively.

' _I wish I had your confidence then,'_ the Son of Poseidon thought. Still, her words did make the choked feeling in his chest uncoil a little. "Of course, I can. I'm naturally diplomatic, you know."

x

(Omake)

Percy Jackson was trying not to shake with nerves as he walked up the stairs to the Big House Attic. The room was large but filled to the brim with artifacts and prizes from former quests, making it seem smaller. None of it had been organized and the pile of swords on the corner of the left table were teetering dangerously. The Son of Poseidon had to hold himself back when his first instinct was to take it all; he didn't know when he had become so comfortable with thievery. Any idea of stealing those swords though (and Aphrodite's scarf, those golden nets, a miniature trident, Demeter's everlasting primrose seeds, and more) was pushed aside when he saw the Oracle.

Or the mummified hippie that the Oracle had become. Percy wasn't sure what the most disturbing part of that image was. The shriveled skin, sunken eyes, or tie-dye shirt proclaiming peace for all.

He cleared his throat. "Um, I'm Percy Jackson. I'm here for a prophecy?"

The mummy's mouth opened and dark gold smoke poured out. It swept through the floor and brushed at his shoes, a fine mist clinging to the faux-leather. "Yo, Percy, my man!"

' _That voice is a lot less raspy then I thought it would be,'_ the dark-haired boy considered, before realizing how masculine it sounded. "Who is this?"

"I'm Apollo, God of the Sun and Hikari's Dad!" The male voice was definitely coming out of the mummy's mouth. "Since you were talking to my Oracle, I thought this would be a great time to get to meet you."

Percy gulped. One of those titles definitely scared him more than the other. "Hello, Lord Apollo."

"Heh, my daughter's got you trained well, hasn't he?" The mummy chuckled. It was immensely creepy. "Call me that if you want kid, but I won't mind just Apollo either. Now I have something important to tell you."

"I'm listening, sir." If his best friend's dad was anything like her grandfather, than it was best to start kissing up now. It had taken eight months before Mr. Kurosawa stopped sneering whenever he saw him after all.

"I don't normally intervene in my kid's love lives," Apollo continued, making the demigod's mouth fall open. Some dust wafted in and he snapped it shut again. "But you're going to need my help."

"Your help?" Percy replied faintly, "No, no, I think you're mistaking-"

"Don't lie to the God of Truth, buddy," the mummy advised, the tone hardening for a second. "Tell me honestly. Do you like my daughter or not?"

' _Like Hikari?_ ' Percy recalled the dark-haired girl with the sky blue eyes, delicate features, and radiant smile. She could be nosy, secretive, and controlling, not to mention obsessively focused on maintaining her perfectly groomed appearance but she was also intelligent, kind, and loyal. She had introduced him to the Greek world and helped him train for all of the dangers there. He had fought beside her plenty of times before entering camp and even sparred a lot now when he wasn't training with Luke… or when she wasn't talking to him. "It doesn't matter. Hikari likes Luke."

"Hermes' boy? Where did you get that idea?" The incredulous tone made him feel more hopeful than it really should. Maybe Apollo would disapprove of Luke and order Hikari to stay away from him?

"They spend a lot of time together," Percy told the man. ' _What am I thinking? I can't just break Hikari's relationship up because I'm jealous. A good friend would never do that._ '

"Don't worry about that. They're just friends," Apollo said confidently, "You're the one that she likes. She just doesn't want to admit it yet."

"Really?" His heartbeat increased. "Wait. Why not?"

"Nothing that you can control," the mummy said dismissively. "Just focus on changing her mind. We'll start with your birthday presents. Last year's paint set was good but this time we're going to focus on jewelry. On your quest, you'll pass a monster hideout near Denver that has a perfect pair of pearl earrings for a girlfriend of a Son of Poseidon. You'll need to ditch your friends and attack the Telchine."

As Percy listened to the Sun God's surprisingly helpful directives, he inwardly shook his head. Between Ms. Kurosawa's enthusiasm for their friendship, Mr. Kurosawa's glaring at him whenever he sat too close to his granddaughter, Hikari's matchmaking of him and, for some reason, Annabeth Chase, and now Apollo's offer of help, he was getting _a lot_ of mixed signals from that family.

x


End file.
